Repositorio
Institucional

Azocar, Laura

Hermosilla, Ninoska#Gay, Antonia#Rocha, Sebastian#Diaz, Juan#Jara, Paulina

Brown pellet production using wheat straw from southern cities in Chile

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

FUEL

en

"In this study, the torrefaction process was optimized to improve the energy yield (Y-energy) in wheat straw pellet production. Wheat is the main agricultural product of Chile and cultivated in approximately 262 000 ha of land. Additionally, solid biofuel alternatives are necessary in the southern cities of Chile to reduce the pollution produced by low-quality firewood used as fuel. That being the case, it appears that wheat straw is a feasible raw material for solid biofuel production. In the current study, the torrefaction of wheat straw was optimized in a thermogravimetric analyzer using the response surface methodology (RSM). The polynomial model generated from the RSM study showed that heating rate and temperature were significant variables on the response variable, Y-energy, time was insignificant. It was shown that a decrease in temperature of up to 130 degrees C resulted in an enhancement of the Y-energy value, and at the aforementioned temperature, a low heating rate improved Y-energy Following the conditions predicted by the model, torrefaction assays were conducted in a bench scale reactor under light torrefaction conditions: a torrefaction temperature of 145 degrees C, heating rate of 3 degrees C/min, and final torrefaction time of 50 min. The torrefied biomass was employed in a pellet production process that was performed in a pilot plant facility. The pellet produced from the torrefied biomass under light torrefaction conditions was named ""brown pellet"" because of its color. Most of the pellet properties satisfy the Standards for Industrial pellets (ISO 17225-6). This showed that light torrefaction temperature can be a potential pretreatment to achieve a commercial production process. Finally, an interesting result was obtained-the bulk density of brown pellets (568 +/- 8 kg/m(3)) was considerably higher compared to that of wheat straw pellets (469 +/- 8 kg/m(3)). This was probably caused by an increment in grinding characteristics. Further studies that focus on identifying the effects of light torrefaction conditions on the mechanical properties of wheat straw pellets should be conducted."

Artículo original

This work was supported by FONDECYT project 11140823, Chile. The authors wish to thank Paulo Munoz of California Pellet, Chile, Direccion de Cooperacion Internacional, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile and Direccion de Investigacion, Universidad Catolica de la Santisima Concepcion, Chile.

Este trabajo fue apoyado por el proyecto FONDECYT 11140823, Chile. Los autores desean agradecer a Paulo Muñoz de California Pellet, Chile, Dirección de Cooperación Internacional, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile y Dirección de Investigación, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Chile.

10.1016/j.fuel.2018.09.039

pdf

Torrefaction# Biomass# Wheat straw# Pellet# Brown pellet# Light torrefaction conditions

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.09.039

Energy & Fuels# Engineering, Chemical

Torrefacción# Biomasa# Paja de trigo# Bolita# Pellet marrón# Condiciones de torrefacción ligera

Agricultura

Ingeniería Química

Bioproductos (Biocombustibles)

version publicada

hibrida

verde

metadata

metadata

WOS:000448573200079

Brown pellet production using wheat straw from southern cities in Chile

Artículo original

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

FUEL

Energía y Combustibles# Ingeniería, Química

0016-2361

en

ANID FONDECYT 11140823#UCSC#UFRO

ANID FONDECYT 11140823

This work was supported by FONDECYT project 11140823, Chile. The authors wish to thank Paulo Munoz of California Pellet, Chile, Direccion de Cooperacion Internacional, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile and Direccion de Investigacion, Universidad Catolica de la Santisima Concepcion, Chile.

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