Catalytic upgrading of sugarcane bagasse pyrolysis oil

Close-coupled pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading of sugarcane bagasse was carried out in a laboratory-scale apparatus under different process conditions to determine the effect of pyrolysis reactor heating rate, upgrading temperature and biomass particle size on the yield of liquid organic products. Heating rates of 40–60°C·min–1, upgrading temperatures of 385–500°C and 300–1500µm particles were used. A conventional and gallium-doped HZSM-5 catalyst was employed. Liquid product yields were in the range of 10–25%. Lower heating rates and upgrading temperatures as well as larger particle sizes gave the best liquid organic product yields. The addition of gallium to the catalyst resulted in an improved yield of benzene. The deoxygenation activity with respect to phenolic compounds remained relatively unchanged.

Solar Assisted Fast Pyrolysis: A Novel Approach of Renewable Energy Production

Biofuel produced by fast pyrolysis from biomass is a promising candidate. The heart of the system is a reactor which is directly or indirectly heated to approximately 500°C by exhaust gases from a combustor that burns pyrolysis gas and some of the by-product char. In most of the cases, external biomass heater is used as heating source of the system while internal electrical heating is recently implemented as source of reactor heating. However, this heating system causes biomass or other conventional forms of fuel consumption to produce renewable energy and contributes to environmental pollution. In order to overcome these, the feasibility of incorporating solar energy with fast pyrolysis has been investigated. The main advantages of solar reactor heating include renewable source of energy, comparatively simpler devices, and no environmental pollution. A lab scale pyrolysis setup has been examined along with 1.2 m diameter parabolic reflector concentrator that provides hot exhaust gas up to 162°C. The study shows that about 32.4% carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and almost one-third portion of fuel cost are reduced by incorporating solar heating system. Successful implementation of this proposed solar assisted pyrolysis would open a prospective window of renewable energy.