Study of Techno Economic Analysis of Bio-oil from Selected Biomass through Vacuum Pyrolysis

Abstract

Energy crisis due to the rapid growth of population and urbanization has led to extensive research of technologies which are efficient and effective. Pyrolysis is one of the techniques which has a potential to turn waste (biomass) into useful solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. The need of the hour is to generate energy from sources which are widely available. Biomass is a renewable energy source and the products resultant from pyrolysis of biomass are environmental friendly and carbon-neutral. Pyrolysis is thermal degradation of biomass in an oxygen deprived atmosphere. The pyrolysis reaction takes place at very low pressures and produces solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, namely, _bio-char_, _bio-oil_ and _syngas_. The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the biomass pyrolysis in a packed bed vacuum reactor and determine the influence of various parameters like temperature, heating rate and vapour residence time on the yield of the end products. Cashew-nut shell, sugarcane bagasse and groundnut shell are selected as biomass. A simple pyrolysis reactor system has been employed for carrying out different experiments using different biomasses. The objective is to optimize the yield of liquid product in the temperature range of 400-500oC. The bio-oils obtained from different feedstock have been analyzed for composition using FT-IR. The physical properties of bio-oils have also been analysed using standard test procedures. Proximate and ultimate analysis of the biomass feedstock proved feasible for a good pyrolysis liquid yield. Performing pyrolysis reaction with different biomass i.e. cashew nut shells, sugarcane bagasse and groundnut shells was fruitful with good amount of bio-char and bio-oil yield. Standard tests on the liquid and the solid yields obtained from the pyrolysis reaction were satisfactory in the aspects of purity and consistency. Keywords: Biomass, Pyrolysis, Renewable Energy, Bio-oil