Energy Harvest: Bio-Energy production from agricultural waste biomass

María Lorena Falco1, Sudhakar Sagi1, Robert Berry1, Jitendra Kumar2, Y. Sudhakara Reddy2,

Thallada Bhaskar2, Ignacio Melián Cabrera1

UK-India Workshop on Energy for Economic Development and Welfare. Dehradun, October 23-27 2017

1European Bioenergy Research Institute,School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Aston University,

Birmingham, UK2Bio-Fuels Division, Indian Institute of Petroleum. Dehradun, India

Farmers from region Punjab, India, burn the crop residues in the open fields

causing air pollution and consequently health problems to the population

Biomass pyrolysis is a promising alternative for obtaining fuels and

chemicals from sustainable sources, like wood, straw, agricultural residues , etc.

Rice straw from Punjab fields can be used as feedstock for biofuel production

Energy Harvest-Bio oil project

2

2

Punjab crop burning

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86982&src=ve 3

Potential of rice straw for energy production

Major agricultural residue: around 731 Tg/Yr (1997-2001) around90% world rice production comes from Asia.India contributes with almost 20% of this production.

Double benefit: Avoiding crop burning and generating renewableenergy.

Low cost of raw material: the cost of rice straw is around £20/t.

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Bio oil production: Slow pyrolysis in an Auger-Screw reactor

Slow Pyrolysis Fast PyrolysisHeating rate Low Very high

Residence time Minutes Short: msec-sec

Product yield Evenly distributed Around 70 wt.% bio-oil

Condensation Standard condensation system

Rapid cooling of vaporsrequired

Particle size Pellets Fine particles

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Auger-Screw reactor

Auger type reactors use an internal screw to transport biomass inside the reactor, while heating comes from the wall (e.g. heating jacket).

Double Screw

Y. Yang et al. / Bioresource Technology 169 (2014) 794–799

Single Screw

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Objectives

Main

Use waste biomass from rice straw harvested in India to produceany sort of energy

Specific

Optimize operational conditions in the slow pyrolysis of rice straw fromIndia in a single screw reactor.

Upgrading feedstock in order to obtain higher quality products.

Upgrading the bio-oil fraction through blending with different oils.

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Collaboration activities Aston-IIP

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Lab Scale Single Screw Reactor

Feeder hoper

Feeder valve

Reactor body(screw inside)

Charpot

N2 inlet

Pressuresensor

Gas outlet

Engine 1

Engine 2

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Reactor and condensation system

Water condenser Dry Ice

Condenser

Cotton filter

GC

Water

Water

Rice straw

Bio oilcollection Char

collection

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Reactor and condensation system

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Reactor and condensation system

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I- Biomass characterization

1. Moisture content2. Ash content 3. Thermo-gravimetric analysis4. Calorific value 5. Lignocellulose, cellulose, extractives6. Elemental analysis: CHNS

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Slow Pyrolysis

Temperature

Residence time

Particle Size

II- Obtain optimal pyrolysis parameters. Variables to investigate:

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Acid wash

Sample 1Rice straw

Alkalinewash

Sample 2Rice straw

Steamexplosion

Sample 3Rice straw

Pyrolisis

Pyrolisis

Pyrolisis

III- Influence of biomass pre-treatment on bio-oil properties

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Planned product analysis

Methodology Pyrolysis products

Liquid Char Gas

Water content: Karl Fischer titration

Total acid numberElemental analysis (CHNS)Calorific valueDensityGas chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (chemical composition)Ash content Flash pointThermo-gravimetrical analysisGas chromatography

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Biomass Analysis

Characterization Method

Moisture content (wt. %)

Ash content* (wt. %)

Heating Value (MJ/kg)

Experimental 4 20 16

Literature [1-4] 4-14 10-23 15- 16

1 H. Nam, S. C. Capareda, N. Ashwath, and J. Kongkasawan, Energy, 93, 2384–2394, 2015. 2 J. Park, Y. Lee, C. Ryu, and Y. K. Park, Bioresour. Technol., 155, 63–70, 2014 3 S. Sun, W. Chen, J. Tang, B. Wang, X. Cao, S. Sun and R-C Sun., Biotechnol. Biofuels, 9 (1), 217-230, 2016 4 Gani, A., Naruse, I., Renew. En. 32, 649–661, 2007

Fuel Heating Value (MJ/kg)

Coal 15-27

Carbon 34Diesel 44

Gasoline 47

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fuels-higher-calorific-values-d_169.html

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Biomass Analysis

1 H. Nam, S. C. Capareda, N. Ashwath, and J. Kongkasawan, Energy, 93, 2384–2394, 2015. 2 J. Park, Y. Lee, C. Ryu, and Y. K. Park, Bioresour. Technol., 155, 63–70, 2014 3 S. Sun, W. Chen, J. Tang, B. Wang, X. Cao, S. Sun and R-C Sun., Biotechnol. Biofuels, 9 (1), 217-230, 20164 Gani, A., Naruse, I., Renew. En. 32, 649–661, 2007

Characterization Method

Elemental Analysis(wt. %) Cellulose

(wt. %)Hemicel.

(wt. %)Lignin (wt. %)

C H N S O

Experimental 41 5 1.5 0.4 33 26 18 14

Literature [1-3]35-54 5-8 0.4-4 0.5-0.6 30-52 34-44 18-27 18-26

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Thermo-gravimetric Analysis

-3.5

-3

-2.5

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Der

ivat

ive

Wei

gtht

(%/m

in)

Wei

ght (

%)

Temperature (οC)

Rice Straw, N2

TGA dTGA

-4.5-4-3.5-3-2.5-2-1.5-1-0.500.5

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 Der

ivat

ive

Wei

gtht

(%/m

in)

Wei

ght (

%)

Temperature (οC)

Rice Straw, O2

TGA dTGA

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Future activities

IV- Blending with bio-diesel and other vegetable oils. Study of blend stability and maximum bio-oil miscibility

V- Engine tests with the produced blends

VI- Bio-refinery approach

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Thank you for your attention!

Questions?

m.falco@aston.ac.uk

Financial Support: