Title:
Conversion of Contaminated Biomass in an Innovative Biorefinery into High-quality Energy Carriers
Author(s):
Kick, C., Li, T., Daschner, R., Franke, M.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
Within the European-funded research project “Phy2Climate,” an innovative biorefinery was implemented with the overall goal of combining phytoremediation and biofuel production. In the biorefinery, heavy metal-contaminated biomass harvested from the project’s pilot sites was initially converted into gaseous, liquid, and solid intermediate products using the thermo-catalytic reforming process (TCR®). The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of converting heavy metal contaminated biomass (Rapeseed and Quinoa) into high-quality energy carriers using TCR® technology at post-reformer temperatures ranging from 550°C to 750°C. The results showed that increasing post-reformer temperatures significantly influenced product yields and quality. Lower temperatures favored the formation of bio-oil and bio-coke (commonly also referred to as biochar), while higher temperatures increased pyrolysis gas production, shifting the main energy carrier from bio-coke to gas. Heavy metal distribution varied: for Rapeseed, most heavy metals accumulated in bio-coke at 550°C, while for Quinoa, heavy metals were concentrated in bio-coke at 750°C. Higher temperatures resulted in higher H2 yields and better HHV for both biomasses, with bio-oil with better HHV meeting ISO 8217 (2017) standards for low sulfur fuel oil. The study highlights a trade-off between maximizing favored product yields and concentrating heavy metals in bio-coke, suggesting further research to optimize TCR® processing conditions.
Keywords:
biofuel, biorefinery, heavy metals, thermochemical conversion, thermocatalytic reforming
Topic:
Biomass Conversion to Intermediate Bioenergy Carriers and Sustainable Biofuels
Subtopic:
Pyrolysis
Event:
32nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
5AV.4.11
Pages:
728 - 731
ISBN:
978-88-89407-24-0
Paper DOI:
10.5071/32ndEUBCE2024-5AV.4.11
Price:
FREE
