PRODUCTS FROM CANE BAGASSE AND TRASH FAST PYROLYSIS FLUIDISED BED SYSTEM: THE BRAZILIAN EXPERIENCE

摘要

The fast pyrolysis process has been developed in a fluidised bed pilot plant scale in Brazil since 1995. The country has raw material such as cane bagasse and trash to feed the process and all appropriate conditions in terms of human and natural resources. The experiments were carried out in the pilot plant located at Centro de Tecnologia Copersucar in Piracicaba by students and staff from Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Campinas. The progress of this technology will put Brazil ahead of the all Latin American countries in this important area. Bio-oil, fine charcoal, and low calorific value gas are the products of biomass pyrolysis. Samples and operational parameters are obtained in the demonstration facility. Fast pyrolysis temperature is in the range of 450-500℃, and the pressure is atmospheric. The pilot plant feed capacity is 200 kg/h of dry (approximately 15% wt of moisture) biomass and particle size smaller than 1 mm. Fluidised bed reactor has 0.5 m as external diameter and 5 m long. The cleaning gas system has two cyclones to retain the charcoal fine particles, a wet scrubber to recover the bio-oil, and pyrolysis gas is burned in a combustion chamber to recycle the heat in the process. The technology is fully instrumented, being able to be operated continuously by 2 workers per shift. The aim in this technological development is an innovative technology to process residual biomass to produce new biofuel and material as a contribution to cane industry diversification and to create new jobs and income mainly in the rural areas of the country. The applications for the main product, bio-oil, is its use as fuel to replace fuel oil and diesel in electricity generation, to be an additive to emulsify heavy petroleum fraction, an additive to food industry, and a substitute to petrochemical phenol in phenolic (PF) resins, etc. Charcoal has also attractive applications for iron ore pelletisation, briquetting, and activated carbon.