Syngas production from biomass pyrolysis in a continuous microwave assisted pyrolysis system

Nan Zhou; Junwen Zhou; Leilei Dai; Feiqiang Guo; Yunpu Wang; Hui Li; Wenyi Deng; Hanwu Lei; Paul Chen; Yuhuan Liu; Roger Ruan

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123756

Syngas production from biomass pyrolysis in a continuous microwave assisted pyrolysis system

Nan Zhou, Junwen Zhou, Leilei Dai, Feiqiang Guo, Yunpu Wang, Hui Li, Wenyi Deng, Hanwu Lei, Paul Chen, Yuhuan Liu, Roger Ruan

Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

In light of the knowledge gap in the scale-up of microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology, this study developed a continuous microwave-assisted pyrolysis (CMAP) system and examined its feasibility for syngas production. Wood pellets were pyrolyzed in the system under various temperatures, and the product distribution and energy efficiency were investigated. At a processing temperature of 800 °C, the CMAP system obtained a high quality producer gas (lower heating value 18.0 MJ/Nm³ and a 67 vol% syngas content) at a yield of 72.2 wt% or 0.80 Nm³/kg d.a.f. wood, outperforming several conventional pyrolysis processes probably due to two factors: 1) reactions between primary tar and biochar enhanced by microwave irradiation, and 2) the absence of carrier gas in the process. Energy efficiency of the process was also assessed. Potentially the electricity consumption could be reduced from 7.2 MJ to 3.45 MJ per kg of wood, enabling net electricity production from the process.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	123756
Journal	Bioresource Technology
Volume	314
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123756
State	Published - Oct 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by Xcel energy (RD4-1), the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative- Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), and Center for Biorefining. Special thanks to Kirk Cobb, who proofread and made constructive comments to the manuscript.

Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by Xcel energy (RD4-1), the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative- Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), and Center for Biorefining. Special thanks to Kirk Cobb, who proofread and made constructive comments to the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Continuous system
Energy balance analysis
Microwave-assisted pyrolysis
Syngas production
Tar removal

PubMed: MeSH publication types

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abstract = "In light of the knowledge gap in the scale-up of microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology, this study developed a continuous microwave-assisted pyrolysis (CMAP) system and examined its feasibility for syngas production. Wood pellets were pyrolyzed in the system under various temperatures, and the product distribution and energy efficiency were investigated. At a processing temperature of 800 °C, the CMAP system obtained a high quality producer gas (lower heating value 18.0 MJ/Nm3 and a 67 vol% syngas content) at a yield of 72.2 wt% or 0.80 Nm3/kg d.a.f. wood, outperforming several conventional pyrolysis processes probably due to two factors: 1) reactions between primary tar and biochar enhanced by microwave irradiation, and 2) the absence of carrier gas in the process. Energy efficiency of the process was also assessed. Potentially the electricity consumption could be reduced from 7.2 MJ to 3.45 MJ per kg of wood, enabling net electricity production from the process.",

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AU - Li, Hui

AU - Deng, Wenyi

AU - Lei, Hanwu

AU - Chen, Paul

AU - Liu, Yuhuan

AU - Ruan, Roger

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N2 - In light of the knowledge gap in the scale-up of microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology, this study developed a continuous microwave-assisted pyrolysis (CMAP) system and examined its feasibility for syngas production. Wood pellets were pyrolyzed in the system under various temperatures, and the product distribution and energy efficiency were investigated. At a processing temperature of 800 °C, the CMAP system obtained a high quality producer gas (lower heating value 18.0 MJ/Nm3 and a 67 vol% syngas content) at a yield of 72.2 wt% or 0.80 Nm3/kg d.a.f. wood, outperforming several conventional pyrolysis processes probably due to two factors: 1) reactions between primary tar and biochar enhanced by microwave irradiation, and 2) the absence of carrier gas in the process. Energy efficiency of the process was also assessed. Potentially the electricity consumption could be reduced from 7.2 MJ to 3.45 MJ per kg of wood, enabling net electricity production from the process.

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Syngas production from biomass pyrolysis in a continuous microwave assisted pyrolysis system

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

PubMed: MeSH publication types

UN SDGs

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