FAIR-CT96-3203 Scaling-up and operation of a flash-pyrolysis system for bio-oil production and applications on basis of the rotating cone technology

Contacts
Further Information



To find similar Items, click on a keyword below:
Agricultural Residues : FAIR Area 2.1 - Chemical and Physical Processes : Liquid Biofuels and Biogas : Straw : Thermochemical Conversion : Wood (Lignocellulose)

	Type of Project	Shared Cost
	Contract No	FAIR-CT96-3203
	Total Cost	1,217,538 ECU
	EC Contribution	732,633 ECU
	Start Date	01/10/1997
	Duration	36 Months

Background

In Europe there are five main groups currently working on programmes to develop pyrolysis oil production. The only large installations are the Union Fenosa (200 kg/h) and Ensyn plant in Wisconsin, US (100 kg/h).

The main advantage of the rotating cone reactor is that no carrier gas is needed therefore the size and cost of secondary oil-collection will be low. This technology enables a compact reactor to be built with an extremely high solids throughput capacity.

Objectives

The overall objective of the project is to scale-up the novel, rotating cone technology for flash pyrolysis of biomass and examine the related bioenergy system by application of bio-oil from several feedstocks in engines and combustion chambers.

The specific objectives are:

1. to identify and characterise biomass feedstocks suitable for conversion to bio-oil through flash pyrolysis in a rotating cone reactor
2. to scale-up the rotating cone reactor to a commercial size (200 kg biomass per hour)
3. to optimise the process with respect to quality and yield of the bio-oil, in various test runs
4. to produce bio-oil from various feedstocks in long lasting production runs
5. to characterise the bio-oil and test it in properly adapted diesel engines and furnaces
6. to estimate the market potential for bio-oil and the economic feasibility of the technology

Technical Approach

The main features of the pyrolysis technology for electricity production from biomass are:

• the production of fuel (bio-oil) and the production of electricity are de-coupled
• a relatively high efficiency of 30% (power output-to-caloric input) seems feasible at small scale

The problems which have to be overcome in the overall biomass to bio-oil production and electricity generation chain are:

1. the selection of proper feedstock pre-treatment systems which result in low specific costs
2. the reliability of the pyrolysis pilot plant at the scale of 200 kg per hour
3. the retrofitting of prime movers for bio-oil utilisation and demonstration of the system efficiency

To reach the objectives the following work has to be completed:

• optimisation of the process with respect to the quality and yield of the bio-oil, in various test runs
• identification and characterisation of biomass feedstocks suitable for conversion to bio-oil through flash pyrolysis in a rotating cone reactor
• production of bio-oil from various feedstocks in long production runs
• characterisation and testing of the bio-oil in properly adapted diesel engines and furnaces
• estimation of the market potential for bio-oil and the economic feasibility of this novel European technology
• adaptation of a diesel engine and use to test for bio-oil combustion
• design and testing of a combustion chamber for use of bio-oil in turbine applications
• generation of a report covering both the pretreatment, transport and storage of various forms of biomass as well as results of chemical analysis and physical properties of both various types of biomass and oils derived from them.

Contacts

Participant

• Juan E CARRASCO GARCIA / CIEMAT Instituto de Energias Renovables / SPAIN
• Saskia VAN 'T VEEN / KARA Energy Systems BV NETHERLANDS
• Ulf HANSEN / Rostock University Institute for Energy and Environmental Technology / GERMANY