Substainable Production of Biofuels From Biomass
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Transcript of Substainable Production of Biofuels From Biomass
TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY
TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY
Research Project
Bio refineries for sustainable production of fuels
Research Team
Seam Tesfom : g7804627
Bikesh Chaurasiya : J9098776
Supervisor
Dr Pattanathu K.S.M. Rahman
Programme Leader (MSc Biotechnology)
Submission Date: 5/10/2012
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Contents Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2
History ................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Energy Consumption and Need ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Biomass ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Bio-refineries and different process ............................................................................................................................... 3
I. Fermentation .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
II. Trans-esterification ................................................................................................................................................. 3
III. Gasification ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
IV. Fisher-Tropsch synthesis ..................................................................................................................................... 4
V. Hydrogenation process ........................................................................................................................................... 4
VI. Fast pyrolysis ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Fast Pyrolysis ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Process principles ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
Fast pyrolysis reactor ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
By- Product ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Pyrolysis liquid – Bio-oil ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Environmental, health and safety................................................................................................................................... 6
Process Improvement and Bio-oil upgrading ..................................................................................................................... 6
Catalytic process ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Natural ash in biomass................................................................................................................................................ 6
Upgrading to bio fuel .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Physical process .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Filtration...................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Addition of solvent ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Chemical upgrading ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Mild cracking ............................................................................................................................................................... 7
Aqueous phase processing ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Bio-oil application ............................................................................................................................................................... 7
Bio-refinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Economic and cost evaluation ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9
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Summary The purpose for this research is to reviews the current refuel
valorisation, and also looking ahead what’s the future significance
of bio-refinery technology. Bio refinery is facility which integrates
conversion equipment and process to produce power, fuel and
various chemicals from biomass. The bio-refinery technology
combines all the necessary bio-renewable raw material with
intermediate chemicals and concerts to final product. Depending
on the type of product required, different technologies and
biomass are used. For example production of char and bio-oil by
pyrolysis, gaseous fuels from biomass, hydrothermal liquefaction
from biomass
On this report a focus on fast pyrolysis technologies has been
reviewed. Fast pyrolysis process biomasses produce a BIO-OIL or
liquid production. The technology for fast pyrolysis is emphasised,
explaining all major reaction. The primary liquid product is
specified by customer or referring many properties which can be
beneficial. A suitable biomass has being chosen, wood, in which
can produce high efficiency. The fast pyrolysis technology and bio-
mass properties have caused an increasingly extensive research to
be undertaken to improve the process for high yield. The process
upgrading is carried out using chemical, physical and catalytic
method. The catalytic upgrading one is increasing diverse methods
and catalyst and particular to complexity and sophistication of
multi-functional systems. Also it’s useful to see other companies’
involvement in this technology area and increase take-up by
evolving upgrading process.
The cost and environmental aspect for this process has being
researched and evaluated. Fast pyrolysis has no effect
environment harmless since it self-sufficient energy. Cost
evaluation is assessed as well, can be said economical viable
considering the high yield and efficient. (Demirbas, 2011)
Introduction
History The history of the process of conversion of biomass to useful
energy or fuels has been started from early 1860, when the
German Nikolaus August Otto invented an Otto engine which
works by using ethanol as a fuel. Likewise, in 20th century Rudolf
Diesel invented the diesel engine which uses peanut oil and Henry
Ford designed his Model T car which operates on ethanol derived
from hemp. When the crude oil was started exploring in large scale
in 1930s, the bio fuel production started to decline and after that it
was twice when bio fuels production was enhanced due to the
crisis of oil in rest of the last century which was because of the
circumstances .the first circumstance was In world war 2,there was
the shortage of fuels and in order to replace this ,gasoline along
with alcohol (derived from potato )was used in Germany and
gasoline along with alcohol( derived from grain ) was used in Great
Britain and the second incident was in 1970s where because of the
high price of the oil the scientist and the government were forced
to produce the bio fuels . (A.V. Bridgwater a, 30 (1999) )
Along with the development of bio-refineries in many European
countries in these last decades, the concern of its biological and
climatic effect were arising in the public agendas globally which
slowly transformed in to regional and national legislation in the
beginning of the 21st century. For instance, in 2003 EU brought bio
fuel directive, which set a reference value of 5.75% for each market
share of bio fuels in 2010. These legislations and developments are
expected to enhance the second generation bio-refineries and it is
estimated that within 5 to 10 years bio fuels (cellulosic) will be
available on large scale on fully commercial basis. (Ghatak∗, (2011))
Energy Consumption and Need The need of energy is increasing continuously, because of increases
in industrialization and population. The growth of world’s energy
demand raises urgent problems. The larger part of petroleum and
natural gas reserves is located within a small group of countries.
For example, the Middle East countries have 63% of the global
reserves and are the dominant supplier of petroleum. This energy
system is unsustainable because of equity issues as well as
environmental, economic, and geopolitical concerns that have far
reaching implications. Interestingly, the renewable energy
resources are more evenly distributed than fossil or nuclear
resources. Also the energy flows from renewable resources are
more than three orders of magnitude higher than current global
energy need. Now a day’s energy processing is not sustainable due
equity issue as well as economic, environmental and geo-political
issues; which have implication for in future generation. Bio fuel
refinery using biomass is the most significant component to
mitigate greenhouse gas emission and also substitute of fossil fuels.
As its obvious renewable energy is a best ways to achieve high
efficient and sustainable development. (Demirbas, 2011)
Biomass There are various types of biological feedstock though there are no
feed which can be a clear alternative to fossil based products.
There are many feedstock’s available in the environment each with
its advantage and disadvantage. There are mainly two categories
which have been found.
First generation products:-these products are generally produced
from the edible biomass such as oily and starch rich plants.
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Second generation products:-these products are generally
obtained from the residual non-food parts of the crops or many
other non-edible food sources. For e.g.- algae and perennial
grasses which have high potential of replacing fossil based
products.
Starch/sugar crops:-it is the most common type of bio refinery
process which uses sugar and starch crops. The sugars are mainly
produce from the plants like sugar beet, sugar cane and sweet
sorghum which contain very large amount of saccharose. These
saccharose is easily extracted from the plants and fermented to get
bio based chemicals or ethanol.
The plants like corn ,cassava and wheat which are starch containing
plants can be simply hydrolysed and a solution of sugar can be
produced .these process also helps in producing animal feed rich in
energy and protein (eg-DDGS,distillers dried grains with soluble )
Lignocelluloses biomass:-these are the feedstock which has high
capacity of replacing fossil fuel .lignocelluloses refers to non-edible
plant material consisting of lignin ,cellulose and hemi-cellulose .the
and hemi-cellulose and lignin are present on the outer surface of
the cellulose which are very rigid and its very energy intensive
process in breaking the covalent bonds of the hemicelluloses. The
sources of lignocelluloses biomass are mainly agricultural waste
(corn Stover and straw, forestry waste (wood chips), municipal
waste and also the crops like switch grass and mis-canthus which
are short rotation polar plants. (Donald S. Scott a, 1999)
Vegetable oil:-there are mainly two categories of the feed oil PPO
(pure plant oil) and WVO (waste vegetable oil).these feedstock are
mainly converted by the process of trans esterification to biodiesel.
The pure plant oil is mainly obtained from palm; rapeseed, soybean
and sunflower seeds and animal’s fat and cooking oil are the
example of waste vegetable oil.
The sustainable production of biodiesel from the feedstock of
vegetable oil has always been economical challenge since the
Refinement process of WVO is high cost effective process. Thus,
this feedstock can be taken as a supplement to other types of
energy source but cannot be considered as a primary source.
Jatropha oil:-The jatropha oil can be converted in to biodiesel
through the process of transesterificaton .the jatropa curcas tree
are mainly found in the south and Central America, these trees
generally produces 27-40%of the oil which is non-edible. The
research done on the effect to the environment shows positive
result on the environment and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) but
still the exact nature of its cultivation and its environmental effects
are unknown which make this plant difficult to determine its future
as an alternative form of fuel. These plants are mainly cultivated in
the degraded and wasteland ground. (Cuevas A, 1995)
Micro-algae:-it is a large group of heterotrophic and unicellular
phototropic organisms. In recent years, it is the most attracted
forms of renewable source .these algae contains lipids which is
present in the form of triacylglycerol’s which by the process of
trans-esterification can be converted to biodiesel and bio
ethanol(the remaining carbohydrates by the process of
fermentation gets converted to bio ethanol) (CzernikS, 2004)
There are many advantage of using micro algae instead of any
other source of second generation feedstock since they are found
to produce 10 to 100 times more oil per acre than any other
sources and some algae consist of 85%of the dry weight of algae
biomass which is approximately 20 times than that of any other
second generation source. Moreover, they don’t need to compete
with arable lands and they are safe and biodegradable, they are
also quick to cultivate, highly productive and only requires sunlight,
water and CO2 for their growth.
Bio-refineries and different process On the basis of type of the desired product different feedstock are
used in bio refineries process which converts the raw biomass in
the required output form. The most commonly used process are
fermentation, gasification and trans-esterification.
I. Fermentation Fermentation of starch/sugar crops:-the plants containing
starch or sugar crops are initially pre-treated to form a
sugar solution; these plants are generally hydrolysed
enzymatically to form a sugar solution. This process is
followed by fermentation by the help of microbial
organisms to produce bio ethanol sugarcane can directly be
fermented to produce ethanol. (V.R. Wiggers a, Biofuels
from continuous fast pyrolysis of soybean oil: A pilot plant
study, 100 (2009))
Fermentation of lignocelluloses biomass:-in this process,
the cellulose and hemicelluloses is separated by non-
fermentable lignin. lignin are strongly covalent bonded
,thus this bond is broken mechanically and is followed by
alkali ,acids or steam .after the complete combustion of
lignin and delivering the energy ,the cellulose and
hemicelluloses are hydrolysed enzymatically to produce
the solutions of sugars which is again followed by the
process of fermentation. (V.R. Wiggers a, Biofuels from
continuous fast pyrolysis of soybean oil: A pilot plant study,
100 (2009) )
II. Trans-esterification It is a standard process through which the triglycerides (obtained
from the plant or algal oil) are reacted with methanol in the
presence of catalyst (acid and alkali catalyst) to produce FAME
(fatty acid methyl esters) and glycerol.
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The main disadvantage of using triglycerides as the replacement of
diesel is its low volatility, high viscosity and polyunsaturated
character. Thus trans-esterification process reduces the viscosity of
the triglycerides and improves the physical characteristic of the
triglycerides and thus it is considered as the most common type of
biodiesel used today.
III. Gasification It is thermal decomposition process which can be achieved by the
presence of limited amount of oxygen .this process generally refers
to the breaking down of carbonaceous materials into their
synthesis gas compounds, which is known as syngas(Mainly H2
andCO2). The resultant syngas then converts in required useful
output by the process of partial oxidation and by Fisher Tropsch
reaction. (* M. F., 86 (2009) )
IV. Fisher-Tropsch synthesis It is the process which consists and involves catalytic conversion of
the syngas formed to convert it into liquid hydrocarbon (ranging
from C1 to C50).in this process, different selective distribution of
product is obtained with controlling of the process pressure,
temperature and the type of the catalyst used in the process.
This process is widely used but there are chances of shortages of
the catalyst if the production is in large amount scale. This process
is mainly used in production of the synthetic fuel from fossil fuels
and commercial generation of electricity. (CzernikS, 2004)
V. Hydrogenation process This process is considered as the more efficient process of
producing synthetic bio fuel .this process is mainly done by
hydrothermal treatment of bio-oils which is produced from
jatropha, algae or camelina to produce HJR (hydro treated
renewable jet fuels) at high or medium temperature to
hydrocarbon fuels (HJR).these obtained bio fuels have higher
energy content and better combustion performance as Fisher
Tropsch fuels.
In addition, it has got low temperature stability to produces better
jet engine fuel .In December 2009; Air New Zealand tested first
flight aviation with bio fuel obtained from jatropha oil. (Asri Gani,
2006)
VI. Fast pyrolysis It is the process through which there is the thermal decomposition
of biomass (it can be done by hydrogenation or via gasification) to
a liquid bio-oil which contains 35-40% oxygen. This process is still in
its developing stage but is assumed to reduce the costs of
gasification process in which the feed is directly passed to the
gasifier. In this process, the product produced differs on the basis
of difference in the amount of temperature and vapour pressure
applied to the process .for instance, charcoal is formed if lower
amount of temperature and large vapour residence time is
provided to the process. Similarly, at high temperature and longer
residence time the product formed is in the form of gas and if
moderate or medium temperature is supplied along with short
residence time then the product formed is liquid.
Fast pyrolysis is process of interest for the production of liquid as it
is can be easily transported and stored and is also used in the form
of energy and chemicals .
A number of processes are used to convert biomass fuel to more
valuable energy. Process type includes thermal, biological and
physical or mechanical. While biological processing is often very
selective and produces fewer products in high yield by using
biological catalyst. Thermal conversion usually gives complex and
often multiple products in a very short time, inorganic catalyst
often added to improve product quality. Pyrolysis have been
applied for many thousands years for charcoal production,
however over the last 30 years fast pyrolysis at a moderate
temperature around 500 0C within a very short reaction times of up
2 second which has being taken to high consideration interest. This
is because the technology process can gives a very high yield up to
75wt%, useful for various applications. (Daniel J. Hayes a, 145
(2009) )
The fig1 below summarise the market production from three main
thermal processes available for converting biomass to more
valuable form of energy-pyrolysis, combustion and gasification.
This research is focused on emerging an advanced technology on
fast pyrolysis both as for production of integrated liquid that can be
used as fuel and as well as intermediate pre-treatment step to
convert to biomass higher energy content such as heat, bio fuel,
power and chemicals. Fast pyrolysis technology is widely expected
to give a considerable bio-oil in short period of time of versatility,
environmental acceptability and improved efficient.
Figure 1 (Bridgwater, 2011)
Fast Pyrolysis Pyrolysis process is a thermal decomposition which occurs in the
absence of oxygen. Longer vapour residence time and low
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temperature process will favour production of charcoal. In contrast
high temperature and longer residence time will increase
conversion of biomass to gas and moderate temperature within
short vapour residence time is optimum for production of liquids.
There are three product are always produced, however the
proportion varied depending on consumer specification, which can
be adjusted by wide range process parameter. Figure 2 shows the
product distribution obtained from various pyrolysis modes,
showing the achievement by changing the process. Fast pyrolysis
process for liquid production is currently particular interest as the
liquid can be transported and stored, and applied for energy use,
chemicals and fuels.
Figure 2 (Bridgwater, 2011)
Process principles Fast pyrolysis biomass decomposes at fast rate in order to generate
vapour and aerosols charcoal and gas. After cooling and
condensation, a homogenous dark-brown liquid is formed in which
it has half of the heating value of conversional fuel oil. A high yield
and efficiency of liquid is obtained from a biomass with low ash
because it reduce the gas flow rate and also could possibly mix with
liquid give less quality. Feature for fast pyrolysis for liquid
production are;
Very high heat transfer and heating rate at biomass particle
interface requires the biomass particle to be finely
grounded, typically between ranges of 2-3mm,
The temperature (500oC) has to be carefully controlled to
increase the yield of biomass,
A very short vapour residence time typically less than 2 sec,
to reduce secondary reaction,
Rapid char removal to reduce cracking of vapour
Rapid cooling of vapour to produce bio-oil product
The main end product is bio-oil, obtained in yield about 75wt % on
dry basis. Both the product char and gas can be used to in process
to provide all heat required so there are no waste streams except
ash and flue gases. The liquid depends on type of biomass, vapour
residence time, temperature, char separation and biomass ash
content. Any type form of biomass can be used for fast pyrolysis.
Most work has being carried out of wood, one because of its
consistency and comparability between test over 100 various
biomass laboratories. Second reason is that fact that wood are
cheap founded at low cost. (Bridgwater, 2011)
Fast pyrolysis reactor The heart of fast pyrolysis is the reactor, it cover about 10-15% of the total cost. In recent years development and research has being focused on testing and developing various reactor configuration on different feed stock. Another attention focus has being made on control and improvement on liquid quality and collection system. The rest of rest of fast pyrolysis process contained on biomass reception, storage and handling, grinding, biomass drying and product collection, In recent research activity on fixed bed increased to give high liquid yield, however more likely to give a phase separation liquid. The phase separated liquid product in some application might be the desired product where fraction is required. It applied this separation is much preferred rather than depending on a poor design and process control. (Bridgwater, 2011)
Figure 3 (Bridgwater, 2011)
By- Product Gas and char are by-products; normally they contain around 5 and
25% of the energy materials respectively. The process requires
about 15% of the in energy in feed, of the by-products. The char
by itself has enough (self-sufficient) energy to provide heat for the
system. Heat can deliver by burning char in orthodox reaction
design system, which makes the energy process self-sustainable. In
more advanced configuration could gasify the char to LHV gas and
the burn the produced gas to more effectively to provide heat with
advantage that alkali metals in the char can be controlled better.
The wasted heat from combustion the chars and by-product gas
can be used for feed drying and in large installation used for export
and generation power.
A significance of fast pyrolysis is that well designed and well-run
process should not produce any emission apart from clean flue gas
which is CO2 and water, although they will have to meet local
standard emission regulation required.
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Pyrolysis liquid – Bio-oil Bio-oil is a dark brown and approximate to biomass in elemental
composition. It consists of a complex mixture of oxygenated
hydrocarbons with an appreciable proportion of water content
from both original moisture and reaction product. Small amount of
solid char might be present. Typical organic yields from various
feedstocks’ and their variation of different temperature are shown
in fig below. Similarly result is obtained for majority of biomass
feedstock, although the maximum l yields occurs at range of 480-
5200C depending on feedstock. Wood for example tends to give a
maximum liquid yield of around 70-75% on dry feed basis at lower
end of this temperature range. (CzernikS, 2004)
The liquid is formed by a rapid quenching, cooling, and thus
freezing the intermediate product of flash degradation of cellulose,
hemicelluloses and lignin. The liquid thus contain many reactive
species, in which it contributes to its usual attributes. Bio-oil can be
considered a micro-emulsion which contains a phase in aqueous
solution of hemicelluloses e decomposition product. These will
provide stability for the discontinuation phase of pyrolytic lignin
macro-molecule through mechanism like hydrogen bonding.
Figure 4 Organic yield from various feed stocks (Bridgwater, 2011)
Environmental, health and safety Whilst bio-oil has become more widely recognised and available,
attention has being increased on aspect of environment, health
and safety. A study was accomplished in 2005 to assess the eco-
toxicity and toxicity of 21 bio-oils from commercial producers of
bio-oil around the world in a screening study along with a complete
assessment of bio-oil representative. The study includes a
comprehensive analysis, evaluation of transportation requirement
as update of previews study and bio-degrability assessment. The
result obtained are complex and require more depth details
analysis however the overall conclusion is that bio-oil offers no
significant environment, health and safety risks. (Trebbi G, 1997)
Process Improvement and Bio-oil upgrading
Bio-oil can be upgraded though a number of ways – catalytically,
physically and chemically. A more significant features and up to
dated development are reviewed here. A summary of main
methodology for upgrading are shown in fig below.
Figure 5: Over view of Bio fuel upgrading system (Bridgwater, 2011)
Catalytic process
Natural ash in biomass
Biomass normally contain a very active catalytic within the
structure. There are alkali metals that produce ash and which
required in for nutrient transfer and growth of biomass. Potassium
is most active followed by sodium. These act is operated by making
secondary cracking of vapours and reducing the liquid yield and
quality. Depending on the concentration level the effect can be
more severe than char cracking. (Trebbi G, 1997)
Upgrading to bio fuel
Process of upgrading bio-oil to a conventional transport fuel such
as gasoline, methane, LPG, kerosene and diesel requires total de
oxygenation and conventional refining. These can be achieved
either by integrated catalytic pyrolysis or by decoupled operation
summarised below. There is also a great interest in partial
upgrading to a product that is compatible with refinery streams so
that to take benefit of experience and economic scale in
conventional refinery. Integration into refineries by upgrading has
being reviewed on the following process;
Hydro treating
Esterification and related process
Catalytic vapour process
Gasification to syngas followed by synthesis to alcohol or
hydrocarbon.
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Physical process The most crucial properties that may affect bio-oil fuel quality are
in compatibility with the conventional fuels from high oxygen
content of the bio-oil, high viscosity, high solid and chemical
instability.
Filtration
Filtration on hot-vapour can reduce the ash content of the oil less
than 0.01% and alkali content to less than 10ppm, it’s being
reported that much lower biomass oils produced using cyclones
system only. This will give a higher quality product with lower char,
however char is catalytically active and potentially cracks vapours,
reduce yields to 20% and decrease the average molecular weight of
the liquid product. Information on the operation and performance
of hot vapour filters are very limited however, they can be
specified and perform similar to hot gas filter in gasification
process. (V.R. Wiggers a, Biofuels from continuous fast pyrolysis of
soybean oil: A pilot plant study, 100 (2009) )
Addition of solvent
Polar solvent has being applied from long time to homogenise and
reduce the viscosity of biomass oils. Adding a solvent, particularly
methanol, proved a significant effect on the oil sustainability and
stability. Diebold and Crernik found that the rate of viscosity
increase for oil with 10 wt. % of methanol was almost twenty times
less than for oil without additives. (V.R. Wiggers a, Biofuels from
continuous fast pyrolysis of soybean oil: A pilot plant study, 100
(2009) )
Chemical upgrading Chemical upgrading includes non-physical methods and those
catalytic process not covered in hydro treating and zeolite related
processes. (V.R. Wiggers a, Biofuels from continuous fast pyrolysis
of soybean oil: A pilot plant study, 100 (2009) )
Mild cracking
A mild cracking is a catalytic based which only address the cellulose
and hemicelluloses derived products and aim to reduce formation
of gas and coke. Crofcheck at University of Kentucky has explored
ZnO (V.R. Wiggers a, Biofuels from continuous fast pyrolysis of
soybean oil: A pilot plant study, 100 (2009) ) and freshly calcined
Zn/Al and Mg/Al layer double hydroxide to upgrade a synthetic bio-
oil based on earlier work in Finland.
Aqueous phase processing
This is a relatively new approach that was first proposed by
Dumesic et al. who produced hydrogen and alkane from aqueous
solution of oxygenated hydrocarbon through aqueous phase
reforming and dehydration. A large amount of bio-oil is soluble
with water and the compounds present in its aqueous fraction are
significantly oxygenated hydrocarbon. (Demirbas, 2011)
Bio-oil application Bio-oil can be replace for diesel and fuel in various application such
as; furnace, boiler, turbine and engine for use of electricity. A
review has being made in 2004 in many aspects, however not much
change has done since then. The most significant change made
since then is:
A great consideration for fast pyrolysis to be a pre-
treatment method, which is bio-oil, can be used effectively
as energy carrier.
An increase in awareness in potential in fast pyrolysis and
bio-oil to offer valuable process route to various range of
product and also contribute to a concept of bio refinery
development.
A considerable great interest in improving and upgrading
bio-oil sufficiently for the use of power, heat and various
applications.
Bio-refinery The majority of chemicals are produced from petroleum feed
stocks. Only small percentage of the total oil production, about 5%,
is used in chemical manufacture. However the value of these
chemicals produces a high contribution to energy and fuel
products. There is a clear economic advantage in building a similar
flexibility into biofuel market by taking of the biomass production
to manufacture chemicals. In fact, this concept quite advantageous
in context of biomass because it is chemically more heterogeneous
than crude oil and conversion of fuel, particularly hydrocarbons, is
not cost effective. Figure below shows how fast pyrolysis is at the
heart of bio refinery.
The main key feature of bio refinery is co-production of fuels,
energy and chemicals. There is a possibility of gasifying biomass to
make syngas, which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon
monoxide, alcohols and other chemicals. However this route is cost
and energy intensive. Many of the energy of biomass are lost in
processing so electric generation may be most efficient use of
biomass in this case.
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Figure 6 Bio-refinery based on fast pyrolysis (Bridgwater, 2011)
Economic and cost evaluation The total installed capital cost for fast pyrolysis process starting from preparing and drying feed material to liquid bio-oil product in storage tank is given by the following formula equation;
Fast pyrolysis capital cost for plant in million euros =
2011 = 6.98 x (biomass feed rate dry t h_1)0.67
The total production cost for bio-oil is obtained using the following equation:
Production cost in euros: t-1 bio-oil 2011 =1.1 x [(B) + (H x 16, 935 x F-
0.33)] Y-1
B = Biomass cost € dry t_1,
H = Capital and capital related charges, default value = 0.18
F = Biomass feed rate dry t y_1,
Y = Fractional bio-oil yield, wt., default value = 0.75 for Wood, 0.60 for grasses. The effect of scale for four dry basi feed costs from 0 to 80.Euros t_1 is shown in fig below
Figure 7 (Bridgwater, 2011)
Fast pyrolysis technologies for the production of liquid fuel have
been successfully demonstrated on a small scale and also in several
demonstration and commercial plants are in operation, but they
are still relatively expensive compared with fossil-based energy,and
thus face economic and other non- technical barriers when trying
to penetrate the energy market. (Bridgwater, 2011)
Conclusion The bio-oil liquid produced through fast pyrolysis has a
considerable advantage of being transportable and storable, as
well as having a potential to provide and supply various valuable
chemicals. So therefore in these respect it provide a unique
advantage. Never the less it’s quite disappointing to see lesson of
the previews either not considered or forgotten in rush to obtain a
new research underway. Fast pyrolysis has some basic requirement
such as: type of biomass, design of rector in order to produce a
good yield, quality and environmental friendly. The potential of
bio-oil is increasingly being identified, along with dramatic growth
in research into improving bio-oil properties in particular for a
significant application for biofuel production. Some of the most
interesting and potential significant research is on more complex
and sophisticated catalytic process system and these will require a
larger scale development to improve economic viability and
feasibility.
Bio refineries provide a considerable scope for optimisation of fast
pyrolysis based product and process. These will require
improvement and development of component so that to optimise
an integrated system. It will necessary require a supply of heat and
power but since the fast pyrolysis is a self-sufficient energy, will
makes more preferable. There is an exciting future for both bio-oil
upgrading and fast pyrolysis as long as the focus is on delivering a
good quality and valuable product.
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Bibliography
1. *, A. D. (50 (2009)). Biorefineries: Current activities and
future developments. Energy Conversion and
Management, 2782–2801.
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