You need JavaScript to view this

The potential of pyrolysis technology in climate change mitigation - influence of process design and - parameters, simulated in SuperPro Designer software

Abstract

This report investigates whether or not it would be possible to produce carbon-negative energy from pyrolysis of wheat straw in a series of Danish agricultural scenarios. A combination of process simulation in SuperPro Designer software, correlations derived from literature studies and experimental work, and overall balance calculations has been applied in the process. The study deviates from other studies of pyrolysis and biochar production by the inclusion of substitution energy impact on the overall carbon-balance. Substitution energy is integrated to account for the gap between the energy production from the pyrolysis and the full energy potential of the biomass, quantified by complete conversion in either combustion or gasification systems. It was concluded that it is feasible to produce carbon-negative energy under a variation of different settings, but also that the negative carbon-balance is only robust for the slow pyrolysis scenario. The CO{sub 2} benefit of the most carbon-negative slow pyrolysis process is estimated to be around 10 % of the atmospheric carbon stored in the original biomass when natural gas is applied for energy substitution. This process avoids the emission of around 150-200 kg CO{sub 2}/ton wheat straw with substitution energy with a Denmark 2007 average carbon-intensity. This result is  More>>
Publication Date:
Jan 15, 2011
Product Type:
Technical Report
Report Number:
RISO-R-1764(EN)
Resource Relation:
Other Information: 22 tabs, 154 refs.
Subject:
09 BIOMASS FUELS; FEASIBILITY STUDIES; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; BIOMASS; CHARS; PYROLYSIS; STRAW; WHEAT; CARBON DIOXIDE; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; ENERGY BALANCE
OSTI ID:
1004725
Research Organizations:
Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy. Biosystems Div., Roskilde (Denmark)
Country of Origin:
Denmark
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ISBN 978-87-550-3877-6; TRN: DK1101021
Availability:
Also available at http://www.risoe.dtu.dk/rispubl/reports/ris-r-1764.pdf; OSTI as DE01004725
Submitting Site:
DK
Size:
115 p. pages
Announcement Date:
Feb 14, 2011

Citation Formats

Thomsen, T, Hauggaard-Nielsen, H, Bruun, E W, and Ahrenfeldt, J. The potential of pyrolysis technology in climate change mitigation - influence of process design and - parameters, simulated in SuperPro Designer software. Denmark: N. p., 2011. Web.
Thomsen, T, Hauggaard-Nielsen, H, Bruun, E W, & Ahrenfeldt, J. The potential of pyrolysis technology in climate change mitigation - influence of process design and - parameters, simulated in SuperPro Designer software. Denmark.
Thomsen, T, Hauggaard-Nielsen, H, Bruun, E W, and Ahrenfeldt, J. 2011. "The potential of pyrolysis technology in climate change mitigation - influence of process design and - parameters, simulated in SuperPro Designer software." Denmark.
@misc{etde_1004725,
title = {The potential of pyrolysis technology in climate change mitigation - influence of process design and - parameters, simulated in SuperPro Designer software}
author = {Thomsen, T, Hauggaard-Nielsen, H, Bruun, E W, and Ahrenfeldt, J}
abstractNote = {This report investigates whether or not it would be possible to produce carbon-negative energy from pyrolysis of wheat straw in a series of Danish agricultural scenarios. A combination of process simulation in SuperPro Designer software, correlations derived from literature studies and experimental work, and overall balance calculations has been applied in the process. The study deviates from other studies of pyrolysis and biochar production by the inclusion of substitution energy impact on the overall carbon-balance. Substitution energy is integrated to account for the gap between the energy production from the pyrolysis and the full energy potential of the biomass, quantified by complete conversion in either combustion or gasification systems. It was concluded that it is feasible to produce carbon-negative energy under a variation of different settings, but also that the negative carbon-balance is only robust for the slow pyrolysis scenario. The CO{sub 2} benefit of the most carbon-negative slow pyrolysis process is estimated to be around 10 % of the atmospheric carbon stored in the original biomass when natural gas is applied for energy substitution. This process avoids the emission of around 150-200 kg CO{sub 2}/ton wheat straw with substitution energy with a Denmark 2007 average carbon-intensity. This result is weighted against the net emissions of the carbon-'neutral' process of conventional combustion. This emission is in this report estimated to be around 50 - 150 kg CO{sub 2}/ton straw depending on scenario settings. The final results of the study have been compared to another study with convincing results. Results concluded that the primary force of the pyrolysis technology is the recalcitrant char product and not the pyrolysis oil. Based on this, the study suggests that despite the trend in commercial pyrolysis technology that focuses on fast pyrolysis processes with maximized bio-oil production, the twin challenge of climate mitigation and sustainable energy production is most efficiently addressed with a combination of slow pyrolysis and complete biomass conversion through combustion or gasification instead. (Author)}
place = {Denmark}
year = {2011}
month = {Jan}
}