Transformation of Biomass – Theory to Practice

Professor Andreas Hornung is Head of theChemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry Group at Aston University, Head of the European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) and Director of EBRI UK Ltd. Professor Hornung studied as an engineer in Chemistry at the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany followed by a PhD of the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. After having spent another four years at the Technical University of Karlsruhe he moved into industry, developing the prototypes for his research. He worked in Austria and Italy and in 2001 took on the position as head of the pyrolysis/gas treatment division at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in Germany. In 2007 he moved to Aston University, UK. Professor Hornung's group researches advanced pyrolysis/gasification and pyrolysis/combustion systems for combined heat and power production. The European Bioenergy Research Institute is based at Aston University, and is a unique platform for the development and implementation of bioenergy systems in local, national and European contexts as well as reaching for International community.

About the Editor xiii List of Contributors xv Preface xvii 1 Biomass, Conversion Routes and Products An Overview 1 K.K. Pant and Pravakar Mohanty 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Features of the Different Generations of Biomass 2 1.3 Analysis of Biomass 5 1.3.1 Proximate and Ultimate Analysis of Biomass 6 1.3.2 Inorganic Minerals Ash Content and Properties 8 1.4 Biomass Conversion Routes 9 1.4.1 Pyrolysis 9 1.5 Bio-Oil Characteristics and Biochar 15 1.6 Scope of Pyrolysis Process Control and Yield Ranges 16 1.6.1 Moisture Content 18 1.6.2 Feed Particle Size 18 1.6.3 Effect of Temperature on Product Distribution 18 1.6.4 Solid Residence Time 18 1.6.5 Gas Environment 18 1.6.6 Effect of Pressure on Product Distribution 19 1.7 Catalytic Bio-Oil Upgradation 19 1.8 Bio-Oil Reforming 22 1.9 Sub and Supercritical Water Hydrolysis and Gasification 23 1.9.1 Biochemical Conversion Routes 24 1.9.2 Microorganisms for Fermentation 25 1.9.3 Integrating the Bioprocess 25 Questions 25 References 28 2 Anaerobic Digestion 31 Lynsey Melville, Andreas Weger, Sonja Wiesgickl and Matthias Franke 2.1 Introduction 31 2.1.1 Microbiology of Anaerobic Digestion 31 2.1.2 Key Phases 32 2.1.3 Influence Factors on the AD 34 2.1.4 Sources of Biomass Utilised in AD 36 2.1.5 Characteristics of Biomass 39 2.1.6 Pre-Treatment of Biomass 41 2.1.7 Products of Anaerobic Digestion 45 2.1.8 Anaerobic Treatment Technology 48 Questions 54 References 54 3 Reactor Design and Its Impact on Performance and Products 61 Yassir T. Makkawi 3.1 Introduction 61 3.2 Thermochemical Conversion Reactors 62 3.2.1 Types of Reactors 62 3.3 Design Considerations 63 3.3.1 Hydrodynamics 64 3.3.2 Residence Time 69 3.3.3 Distributor Plate and Cyclone 72 3.3.4 Heat Transfer Mechanisms 73 3.3.5 Biomass Conversion Efficiency 75 3.4 Reactions and their Impact on the Products 76 3.4.1 Devolatization and Pyrolysis 76 3.4.2 Gasification 77 3.5 Mass and Energy Balance 79 3.5.1 Mass Balance 79 3.5.2 Energy Balance 80 3.6 Reactor Sizing and Configuration 82 3.7 Reactor Performance and Products 85 3.7.1 Moving Beds 85 3.7.2 Fluidized Bed (FB) 87 3.8 New Reactor Design and Performance 92 Nomenclature 94 Greek Symbols 95 Questions 95 References 95 4 Pyrolysis 99 Andreas Hornung 4.1 Introduction 100 4.2 How Pyrolysis Reactors Differ 101 4.3 Fast Pyrolysis 102 4.4 Fast Pyrolysis Reactors 102 4.4.1 Bubbling Fluid Bed Reactor 102 4.4.2 Circulating Fluid Bed Reactor 102 4.4.3 Ablative Pyrolysis Reactor 102 4.4.4 Twin Screw Reactor Mechanical Fluidised Bed 103 4.4.5 Rotating Cone 103 4.5 Intermediate Pyrolysis 103 4.5.1 Principles 103 4.5.2 Process Technology 104 4.6 Slow Pyrolysis 105 4.6.1 Principles 106 4.6.2 Process Technology 106 4.7 Comparison of Different Pyrolysis Techniques 106 4.8 Future Directions 107 4.9 Pyrolysis in Application 107 4.9.1 Haloclean Pyrolysis and Gasification of Straw 107 4.10 Pyrolysis of Low Grade Biomass Using the Pyroformer Technology 109 Questions 110 References 110 Books and Reviews 112 5 Catalysis in Biomass Transformation 113 James O. Titiloye 5.1 Introduction 113 5.2 Biomass, Biofuels and Catalysis 114 5.3 Biomass Transformation Examples 116 5.4 Hydrogen Production 120 5.5 Catalytic Barriers and Challenges in Transformation 120 Questions 120 References 120 Appendix 5.A Catalytic Reforming of Brewers Spent Grain 125 Asad Mahmood and Andreas Hornung 5.A.1 Biomass Characterisation 125 5.A.2 Permanent Gas Analysis 127 5.A.3 Pyrolysis and Catalytic Reforming without Steam 127 5.A.4 Pyrolysis and Catalytic Reforming with Steam 130 Reference 131 6 Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass 133 S. Dasappa 6.1 Introduction 133 6.2 The Thermochemical Conversion Process 136 6.2.1 Pyrolysis 136 6.3 Combustion 139 6.4 Gasification 140 6.4.1 Updraft or Counter-Current Gasifier 141 6.4.2 Downdraft or Co-Current Gasifiers 142 6.5 Historical Perspective on Gasification Technology 143 6.5.1 Pre-1980 143 6.5.2 Post-1980 144 6.6 Gasification Technology 145 6.6.1 Principles of Reactor Design 145 6.6.2 Two Competing Designs 146 6.7 Open-Top Dual Air Entry Reaction Design the IISc s Invention 149 6.8 Technology Package 151 6.8.1 Typical Performance of a Power Generation Package 151 6.8.2 Engine and Generator Performance 155 Questions 156 References 157 7 Engines for Combined Heat and Power 159 Miloud Ouadi, Yang Yang and Andreas Hornung 7.1 Spark-Ignited Gas Engines and Syngas 159 7.2 Dual-Fuel Engines and Biofuels 160 7.3 Advanced Systems: Biowaste Derived Pyrolysis Oils for Diesel Engine Application 161 7.3.1 Important Parameters to Qualify the Oil as Fuel 162 7.4 Advanced CHP Application: Dual-Fuel Engine Application for CHP Using Pyrolysis Oil and Pyrolysis Gas from Deinking-Sludge 166 7.4.1 Fuel Properties: Deinking Sludge Pyrolysis Oil, Biodiesel, Blends and Fossil Diesel 167 7.4.2 Combustion Characteristics 169 7.4.3 Conclusions 170 Questions 171 References 171 8 Hydrothermal Liquefaction Upgrading 175 Ursel Hornung, Andrea Kruse and Gokecn Akgul 8.1 Introduction 175 8.1.1 Product Properties 176 8.2 Chemistry of Hydrothermal Liquefaction 177 8.3 Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Carbohydrates 177 8.4 Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Lignin 179 8.5 Technical Application 182 8.6 Conclusion 183 Questions 183 References 183 9 Supercritical Conversion of Biomass 189 Gokcen Akgul 9.1 Introduction 189 9.2 Supercritical Water Gasification 190 9.3 Supercritical Water Oxidation 193 9.4 Water Gas Shift Reaction under the Supercritical Conditions 193 9.5 Catalysts in the Supercritical Processes 194 9.5.1 Alkali Salts in the Supercritical Water 195 9.6 The Solubilities of Gases in the Supercritical Water 195 9.7 Fugacities of Gases in the Supercritical Water 196 9.8 Mechanism of the Supercritical Water Gasification 197 9.9 Corrosion in the Supercritical Water 197 9.10 Advantages of the Supercritical Conversion of Biomass 198 9.11 Conclusion 199 Questions 199 References 199 10 Influence of Feedstocks on Performance and Products of Processes 203 Andreas Hornung 10.1 Humidity of Feedstocks 206 10.2 Heteroatoms in Feedstocks 206 References 207 11 Integrated Processes Including Intermediate Pyrolysis 209 Andreas Hornung 11.1 Coupling of Anaerobic Digestion, Pyrolysis and Gasification 210 11.2 Intermediate Pyrolysis, CHP in Combination with Combustion 211 11.3 Integration of Intermediate Pyrolysis with Anaerobic Digestion and CHP 212 11.4 Pyrolysis Reforming 212 11.5 The BIOBATTERY 212 11.6 Pyrolysis BAF Application 214 11.7 Birmingham 2026 215 11.8 Conclusion 215 References 216 12 Bio-Hydrogen from Biomass 217 Andreas Hornung 12.1 World Hydrogen Production 217 12.2 Bio-hydrogen 217 12.3 Routes to Hydrogen 219 12.3.1 Steam Reforming 219 12.3.2 Reforming 219 12.3.3 Water Electrolysis 223 12.3.4 Gasification 223 12.3.5 Fermentation 223 12.4 Costs of Hydrogen 223 12.5 Conclusion 224 References 224 Further Reading 225 13 Analysis of Bio-Oils 227 Dietrich Meier and Michael Windt 13.1 Definition 227 13.2 Introduction 227 13.3 General Aspects 228 13.3.1 Before Analysis 228 13.3.2 Significance of Bio-Oil Analysis 228 13.3.3 Post-Processing Reactions 229 13.3.4 Overall Composition 229 13.4 Whole Oil Analyses 230 13.4.1 Gas Chromatography 230 13.4.2 NMR 237 13.4.3 FTIR 238 13.4.4 SEC 239 13.5 Fractionation Techniques 241 13.5.1 Addition of Water 241 13.5.2 Removal of Water (Lyophilization) 243 13.5.3 Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) 246 13.5.4 Solvent Partition 249 13.5.5 Distillation 253 Questions 254 References 254 14 Formal Kinetic Parameters Problems and Solutions in Deriving Proper Values 257 Neeranuch Phusunti and Andreas Hornung 14.1 Introduction 257 14.2 Chemical Kinetics on Thermal Decomposition of Biomass 259 14.3 Kinetic Evaluation Methods 261 14.4 Experimental Kinetic Analysis Techniques 264 14.5 Complex Reaction 264 14.6 Variation in Kinetic Parameters 267 14.6.1 Kinetic Compensation Effect 267 14.6.2 Thermal Lag 268 14.6.3 Influence of Experimental Conditions 269 14.6.4 Computational Methods 270 14.7 Case Study: Kinetic Analysis of Lignocellulosic Derived Materials under Isothermal Conditions 271 14.7.1 Instrument and Operating Conditions 271 14.7.2 Kinetic Evaluation Procedure 272 14.7.3 Formal Kinetic Parameters and Some Technical Applications 275 14.8 Conclusion 278 Nomenclature 279 Subscripts 280 Miscellaneous 280 Questions 280 References 280 15 Numerical Simulation of the Thermal Degradation of Biomass Approaches and Simplifications 285 Istvan Marsi 15.1 Introduction 285 15.2 Kinetic Schemes Applied in Complex Models 288 15.2.1 One-Step Global Models 289 15.2.2 Competing Models 289 15.2.3 Parallel Reaction Models 290 15.2.4 The Broido Shafizadeh Mechanism 291 15.2.5 The Koufopanos Mechanism 292 15.2.6 The Distributed Activation Energy Model (DAEM) 293 15.3 Thermal Aspects of Biomass Degradation Modeling 294 15.3.1 Single-Particle Models 295 15.3.2 Particles in Bed Models 298 15.4 Conclusion 299 Questions 299 Nomenclature 299 Symbols 299 Greek 300 Indices 300 References 300 16 Business Case Development 305 Sudhakar Sagi 16.1 Introduction 305 16.2 Biomass for Power Generation and CHP 307 16.3 Business Perspective 308 16.3.1 Background 310 16.4 The Role of Business Models 310 16.4.1 The Market Map Framework 311 16.5 Financial Model Based on Intermediate Pyrolysis Technology 313 16.5.1 Pelletisation Process 314 16.5.2 Pyrolysis Unit 315 References 318 17 Production of Biochar and Activated Carbon via Intermediate Pyrolysis Recent Studies for Non-Woody Biomass 321 Andreas Hornung and Elisabeth Schroder 17.1 Biochar 321 17.1.1 Introduction 321 17.1.2 Biochar and its Application in the Field 322 References 325 Further Reading 326 17.2 Activated Carbon 327 17.2.1 Introduction 327 17.2.2 Biomass Properties 327 17.2.3 Activation of Biochar 328 17.2.4 Formation of Granular Activated Carbon 334 References 337 Further Reading 337 Index 339