No abstract

No abstract

High amounts of water present in bio-oil are one of the major drawbacks for its utilisation as a fuel. One technology that shows the potential to satisfy the demand for bio-oil with a reduced water content is the flash co-pyrolysis of biomass with polylactic acid, PLA. The influence of PLA on the pyrolysis of willow is investigated with a semi-continuous home-built pyrolysis reactor. Flash co-pyrolysis of willow/PLA blends (10:1, 3:1, 1:1 and 1:2) show synergetic interaction. A higher bio-oil yield and a lower water content as a function of the willow/PLA ratios are obtained. Among the tested blends, the 1:2 willow/PLA blend shows the most pronounced synergy: a reduction in the production of pyrolytic water of almost 28 %, accompanied by an increase of more than 37 % in the production of water-free bio-oil. Additionally, PLA shows to have a positive influence on the energetic value of the bio-oil produced and on the resulting energy recuperation.

No abstract

a b s t r a c tThe aim of this study was to evaluate the production of pyrolysis oil from three types of sewage sludges. The flash pyrolysis was performed at 500°C, the maximum oil yield was 43.1%, and the water content in bio-oils obtained from secondary sludges was relatively low -10.3% and 17.0%. GC-MS results showed that pyrolytic bio-oils of studied sludges dominantly contained fatty acids and nitrogenous compounds with potential added value.Obtained solids had high ash content and low calorific value which make them unattractive for use in incineration. FT-IR results showed that solids gave similar IR features as notified alumino silicates; utilization of these solids as adsorbents could be a potential valorization.

a b s t r a c tThe main barrier in the commercialization of phytoextraction as a sustainable alternative for remediating metal contaminated soils is its long time period, which can be countered by biomass valorization. From an environmental point of view, fast pyrolysis of the biomass is promising because its lower process temperature prevents metal volatilization. The remaining question is whether fast pyrolysis is also preferred from an economic point of view.Therefore, a techno-economic assessment of fast pyrolysis has been performed for a case study in the Campine region in Belgium. For this region, willow trees cultivated in short rotation have the right characteristics to serve as a phytoextracting crop. A techno-economic assessment requires by definition a multidisciplinary approach. The problem statement urges for a focus on the economic profitability from the viewpoint of an investor, including economic risk analysis.Fast pyrolysis seems more profitable than gasification. The profit is dependent on the scale of operation, the policy support (subsidies) and the oil yield. The economic risk can be reduced by increasing the scale of operation by means of complementing feedstocks, and by valorization of the char byproduct by subsequent processing to activated carbon.

No abstract

Brewer's spent grain is a low cost residue generated by the brewing industry. Its chemical composition (high nitrogen content 4.35 wt.%, fibres, etc.) makes it very useful for the production of added value in situ nitrogenised activated carbon. The composition of brewer's spent grain revealed high amounts of cellulose (20.8 wt.%), hemicellulose (48.78 wt.%) and lignin (11.3 wt.%). The fat, ethanol extractives and ash accounted for 8.17 wt.%, 4.7 wt.% and 3.2 wt.%, respectively. Different activated carbons were produced in a lab-scale pyrolysis/activation reactor by applying several heat and steam activation profiles on brewer's spent grain. Activated carbon yields from 16.1 to 23.6 wt.% with high N-contents (> 2 wt.%) were obtained. The efficiency of the prepared activated carbons for phenol adsorption was studied as a function of different parameters: pH, contact time and carbon dosage relative to two commercial activated carbons. The equilibrium isotherms were described by the non-linear Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the kinetic results were fitted using the pseudo-first-order model and the pseudo-second-order model. The feasibility of an activated carbon production facility (onsite and offsite) that processes brewer's spent grain for different input feeds is evaluated based on a techno-economic model for estimating the net present value. Even though the model assumptions start from a rather pessimistic scenario, encouraging results for a profitable production of activated carbon using brewer's spent grain are obtained.