This work examines some aspects of sugarcane bagasse pyrolysis. Fixed bed pyrolysis was performed varying the final process temperature. Product yields and the variation of quality properties (calorific values) of bio-oil, biochar, and non-condensable gas were investigated. A mathematical model to simulate the trend of temperature that maximizes a marginal gain was developed considering the regression equations for yields and prices of products (related to market prices and calorific value of conventional fuels) and for the amount of biomass used to supply energy to the process. Two methodologies were adopted to calculate the optimum process temperature. The results showed very close temperatures (600 and 602 8C) for the best performing simulations of endogenous and fixed prices methods, with little difference between the yields of products, but with good variation between the marginal gains ($124.9/tonne and $129.8/tonne). Finally, the results of endogenous prices method for the fixed bed reactor were compared to the vacuum and fast pyrolysis reactors.
This work experimentally evaluated the pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse in a fixed bed reactor in order to obtain products useful in energy applications. The raw material was characterized to understand its behaviour during the thermal degradation process. The effects of operating conditions on mass yields of bio‐oil, biochar, and non‐condensable gases were investigated. The operating variables studied were temperature (400 to 700 °C), particle size (<0.5 mm, 0.5–1.0 mm, and 1.0–1.41 mm), heating rate (5, 10, and 15 °C/min), and nitrogen flow (50, 100, and 200 mL/min). Analysis of variance showed that for almost all product mass yields, with the exception of the effect of nitrogen flow in bio‐oil yield, the treatment levels result in different means. The highest bio‐oil yield (0.54 g/g) occurred at 600 °C, at a heating rate of 15 °C/min, at a flow rate of 200 mL/min, and for a particle size of 0.5 to 1.0 mm. The process temperature and particle size were the most influential factors in the results.
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