TY - GEN
T1 - Changes in moisture, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, volatiles, and calorific value of miscanthus during torrefaction
AU - Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar
AU - Boardman, Richard
AU - Wright, Christopher
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Torrefaction tests were carried out on miscanthus samples in order to understand the changes in chemical composition at temperatures of 250-350°C and residence times of 30-120 minutes. The raw material chemical composition was moisture content 7.97%, moisture-free carbon (C) 47.73%, hydrogen (H) 5.85%, nitrogen (N) 0.28%, sulphur (S) 0.02%, volatiles (V) 83.29% for volatiles, and moisture and ash-free (MAF) calorific value (CV) 8423 BTU/lb (19.59 MJ/kg). Torrefaction at temperatures of 250°C and residence time of 30 minutes resulted in a significant decrease in moisture by about 82.68%, but the other components, C, H, N, S, and V changed only marginally. Increasing the torrefaction temperature to 350°C and residence time to 120 minutes further reduced the moisture to a final value of 0.54% (a 93.2% reduction compared to original) and also resulted in a significant decrease in the other components, H, N, and V by 58.29%, 14.28%, and 70.45%, respectively. The carbon content at 350°C and 120 minutes increased by about 4% and sulfur values were below detection limits. The calorific values increased by about 5.59% at 250°C and 30 minutes, whereas at 350°C and 120 minutes, the increase was much greater (about 75.61%) and resulted in a maximum degree of carbonization of 1.60. The H/C ratio decreased with an increase in torrefaction temperature, where a minimum value of 0.6 was observed at 350°C and 120 minutes. The regression equations developed with respect to torrefaction temperature and times have adequately described the changes in chemical composition. The surface plots developed based on the regression equations indicate that torrefaction temperatures of 300-350°C and residence times of 30-120 minutes residence time can help to increase carbon content, calorific value, and degree of carbonization to > 49.4%, >11,990 BTU/lb (27 MJ/kg), and 1.4, and reduce moisture, nitrogen, volatile, and the H/C ratio to 0.525-0.725%, 0.225-0.235%, <50 %, and <1.0.
AB - Torrefaction tests were carried out on miscanthus samples in order to understand the changes in chemical composition at temperatures of 250-350°C and residence times of 30-120 minutes. The raw material chemical composition was moisture content 7.97%, moisture-free carbon (C) 47.73%, hydrogen (H) 5.85%, nitrogen (N) 0.28%, sulphur (S) 0.02%, volatiles (V) 83.29% for volatiles, and moisture and ash-free (MAF) calorific value (CV) 8423 BTU/lb (19.59 MJ/kg). Torrefaction at temperatures of 250°C and residence time of 30 minutes resulted in a significant decrease in moisture by about 82.68%, but the other components, C, H, N, S, and V changed only marginally. Increasing the torrefaction temperature to 350°C and residence time to 120 minutes further reduced the moisture to a final value of 0.54% (a 93.2% reduction compared to original) and also resulted in a significant decrease in the other components, H, N, and V by 58.29%, 14.28%, and 70.45%, respectively. The carbon content at 350°C and 120 minutes increased by about 4% and sulfur values were below detection limits. The calorific values increased by about 5.59% at 250°C and 30 minutes, whereas at 350°C and 120 minutes, the increase was much greater (about 75.61%) and resulted in a maximum degree of carbonization of 1.60. The H/C ratio decreased with an increase in torrefaction temperature, where a minimum value of 0.6 was observed at 350°C and 120 minutes. The regression equations developed with respect to torrefaction temperature and times have adequately described the changes in chemical composition. The surface plots developed based on the regression equations indicate that torrefaction temperatures of 300-350°C and residence times of 30-120 minutes residence time can help to increase carbon content, calorific value, and degree of carbonization to > 49.4%, >11,990 BTU/lb (27 MJ/kg), and 1.4, and reduce moisture, nitrogen, volatile, and the H/C ratio to 0.525-0.725%, 0.225-0.235%, <50 %, and <1.0.
KW - Chemical composition
KW - Miscanthus
KW - Torrefaction temperature and time
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/78751472645
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:78751472645
SN - 9780816910656
T3 - AIChE Annual Meeting, Conference Proceedings
BT - 10AIChE - 2010 AIChE Annual Meeting, Conference Proceedings
T2 - 2010 AIChE Annual Meeting, 10AIChE
Y2 - 7 November 2010 through 12 November 2010
ER -