Pyrolysis oil

Pyrolysis oil

Pyrolysis oil is under investigation as substitute for petroleum. It is extracted by destructive distillation from dried biomass in a reactor at temperature of about 500°C with subsequent cooling. Pyrolytic oil is a kind of tar and normally contains too high levels of oxygen to be a hydrocarbon. As such it is distinctly different from similar petroleum products.

Process

The biomass is split into solid, liquid, and gaseous components under the influence of heat only (anhydrous pyrolysis). The produced charcoal may be used for heating the process, used as a soil additive as biochar, or as activated carbon in absorption processes. The gas, consisting of hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), may be burned but the condensible gases have to be kept gaseous until the combustion. The heating value is 15-22 MJ/m3, which is much lower than natural gas.

Fuel oil characteristics

The produced oil is sour with a pH of 1.5-3.8 (2.8) and has an elevated water content 8-20% wt. This leads to corrosion problems especially at higher temperatures. The density is approximately 1.2-1.3 (1.22) kg/l or 10.01-10.85 (10.18) lbs/gallon, which is much higher compared to diesel. The oxygen content is 40-50%, mostly from the water content, and no sulfur may be detected normally. The lower heating value is approximately 16-21 (17.5) MJ/kg. The pour point is -12°C to -33°C, no cloud point could be observed until -21°C. The carbon residue is 17-23 % wt (0.13% ash). The flash point is 40-100°C, the pyrolysis oil is not auto-igniting in a diesel engine. The cetane number is only minus 10. The viscosity increases to a maximum in period of 12 months due to polymerization. The pyrolysis oil is not stable reacting with air and degasing. Pyrolysis oil cannot be blended with diesel [ [http://www.de.unifi.it/Macchine/Martelli/CORSI-MARTELLI/ENERGIE-RINNOVABILI/Dispense/ER_Pyro%201.0.pdf] Dead link|date=March 2008] .

It may be very attractive, from an economic standpoint, to first recover valuable bio-chemicals from the bio-oil. The remainder of the bio-oil can then be combusted to generate electricity or converted to a syngas from which chemicals and clean fuels can be synthesized [http://www.geagroup.com/imperia/md/content/presse/2005.11.30_presentation_dr_plass_e.pdf] .

ee also

*Biodiesel

References

External links

* [http://www.agri-therm.com/index.html Agri-Therm technology for conversion of agricultural waste to bio-oil]
* [http://www.btgworld.com/2005/pdf/technologies/leaflet-fast-pyrolysis.pdf download leaflet]
* [http://www.combio-project.com/download/PDF/Presentation_Chile_Nov2004.pdf download COMBIO project]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oil shale extraction — is an industrial process in which kerogen mdash;a mixture of organic chemical compounds (including hydrocarbons) found in oil shale mdash;is converted into synthetic crude oil through pyrolysis. In pyrolysis, oil shale is heated in the absence of …   Wikipedia

  • Pyrolysis — is the chemical decomposition of organic materials by heating in the absence of oxygen or any other reagents, except possibly steam.It is used in chemical analysis to break down complex matter into simpler molecules for identification, for… …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale economics — deals with the economic feasibility of oil shale extraction and processing. The economic feasibility of oil shale is highly dependent on the price of conventional oil, and the assumption that the price will remain at a certain level for some time …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale gas — is a synthetic gas mixture (syngas) produced by oil shale pyrolysis. Although often referred to as shale gas, it differs from the natural gas produced from shale, which is also known as shale gas. Contents 1 Process 2 Composition 3 Usage …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale reserves — refers to oil shale resources that are recoverable under given economic restraints and technological abilities. Oil shale deposits range from small presently non economic occurrences to large presently commercially exploitable reserves. Defining… …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale in Serbia — is a large, but undeveloped energy resource. Serbia is estimated to have a total resource of 4.81 billion tonnes of oil shale, with up to 3.6 billion tonnes of recoverable reserves, all concentrated within the Aleksinac, Vranje,… …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale in Belarus — is a large, but undeveloped energy resource.[1] Belarus is estimated to contain 8.8 billion tonnes of oil shale, with up to 3.6 billion tonnes of recoverable reserves, all concentrated within the Pripyat Shale Basin, occupying western Homiel,… …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale — For the scientific technical journal, see Oil Shale (journal). Not to be confused with Shale oil or Tight oil. Oil shale Sedimentary Rock Combustion of oil shale Composition …   Wikipedia

  • Oil shale industry — Stuart oil shale pilot plant (now dismantled) Oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale a fine grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds), from …   Wikipedia

  • oil shale — Geol. a black or dark brown shale or siltstone rich in bitumens, from which shale oil is obtained by destructive distillation. [1870 75] * * * Any fine grained sedimentary rock that contains solid organic matter (kerogen) and yields significant… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”