Development and optimization of fast ablative pyrolysis technology in Ukraine

  • Vitalii Zubenko
  • Alex Epik
  • Viacheslav Antonenko
Keywords: fast ablative pyrolysis, screw reactor, bio-oil, biochar, pyrogas, pyrolysis energy efficiency

Abstract

The article contains the aggregated results of the development and optimization of laboratory installation for ablative fast pyrolysis performance with productivity 1–4 kg/hour on final products. The experimental data on a series of experiments (>60) with analysis of the influence of a certain range of input parameters on the bio-oil yield and qualitative parameters of output products is presented. The optimization of installation regimes and input parameters for bio-oil yield maximization for different biomass types is performed. It was found that the ratio of three output products is not always optimal maximizing bio-oil yield with respect to energy yield in the products. The maximum achieved bio-oil yield is 51%, with the average level of 44% (by mass rated to the input products). It is revealed that the final bio-oil yield depends mainly on temperature in the reactor, time of biomass particles existence in the reactor, and biomass fraction. The mass distribution for pyrolysis by-products (pyrogas and biochar) is dependent on the initial moisture content of biomass and organization of the condensation process of bio-oil. The energy balance of installation demonstrates the average efficiency of the pyrolysis process on the level of 65% (with maximum 98%) and could be increased to 90% average with a simple reconstruction of installation. On the basis of obtained laboratory data, the scaling of the installation was performed with the development of a commercial prototype with the productivity of 50 kg/hour. On the basis of obtained technical data, the assessment of economic indicators of bio-oil and biochar production with large sized mobile installation has been performed demonstrating a good commercial feasibility of the installation performance.
Published
2018-07-11
Section
Articles