Green energy technology from buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L. f.) for Brazilian agro‑extractive communities

摘要

The present work analyzed the energy generation potential of Buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L. f.) by thermochemical reactions.The experimental part of the study performed immediate analyses, elemental analyses, lignocellulosic analysis,thermogravimetric analysis, calorific values, and syn gas concentrations measurements of the gasification of Buriti in afixed-bed reactor. Additionally, numerical simulations estimated the syn gas concentrations of the gasification reactionsof Buriti. The immediate analysis showed that Buriti has the highest ash content (4.66%) and highest volatile mattercontent (85%) compared to other Brazilian biomass analyzed, but the higher heating value was only 18.28 MJ.kg~(−1). Theelemental analysis revealed that the oxygen to carbon ratio was 0.51 while hydrogen to carbon ratio was 1.74, indicatinga good thermal conversion efficiency. The Lignocellulosic analysis of Buriti resulted in a high content of holocellulose(69.64%), a lignin content of 28.21% and extractives content of 7.52%. The thermogravimetry of the Buriti indicated thatthe highest mass loss (51.92%) occurred in a temperature range between 150 °C and 370 °C. Lastly, the experimentalgasification study in a fixed-bed updraft gasifier resulted in syn gas concentrations of 14.4% of CO, 11.5% of CO_2and 17.5% of H_2 while the numerical simulation results confirmed an optimal equivalence ratio of 1.7 to maximize CO andH_2 concentrations. Therefore, based on the results presented by the present work, the gasification process is adequateto transform Buriti wastes into energy resources.