Received: 10 January 2022 Revised: 7 March 2022 Accepted: 20 March 2022

DOI: 10.1002/er.7904

SPECIAL ISSUE SHORT COMMUNICATION

Biofuel production using fast pyrolysis of various plant

waste biomasses in fixed bed and twin-screw reactors

Leena Kapoor1 | Akbar Mohammad2 | Jay Mant Jha3 | Neha Srivastava4 |

Sumit Kumar Jana5 | Mohammad Y. Alshahrani6 | Irfan Ahmad6 |
Dan Bahadur Pal5 | Vijai Kumar Gupta7
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
2
School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
4
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
5
Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
6
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
7
Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Edinburgh, UK

Correspondence
Vijai Kumar Gupta, Biorefining and
Summary
Advanced Materials Research Center, Fast pyrolysis of six biomasses mustard, camellia, pinewood, sawdust, bamboo,
Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Kings
and bagasse was completed at a temperature of 500
C in a fixed bed reactor and
Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh
EH9 3JG, UK. a twin-screw reactor. It was found that the yield of bio-oil varied from 48 to
Email: vijaifzd@[Link], [Link]@ 30 wt% in fixed bed reactor and 52 to 39 wt% in a twin-screw reactor, whereas
[Link]
pyrolysis gases yield ranged from 34 to 20 wt% in a fixed bed reactor and 32 to
Dan Bahadur Pal, Department of
16 wt% in twin-screw reactor and biochar yield ranged from 36 to 24 wt% in fixed
Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of
Technology, Mesra, Ranchi 835215, bed reactor and 32 to 16 wt% in a twin-screw reactor. High heating value (HHV)
Jharkhand, India. of bio-oil was found to be maximum for bamboo (24.45 MJ/kg) biomass, whereas
Email: [Link]@[Link]
in the case of biochar, the maximum HHV was obtained for pinewood (27 MJ/
Funding information kg) and sawdust (28 MJ/kg) biomass. On the characterization of the pyrolysis
King Khalid University, Grant/Award products, it is found that char obtained comprises mainly carbon while the liquid
Number: GRP-6-42
product, that is, bio-oil, is a mixture of hydrocarbons. The pyrolysis gases consist
of a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.

Novelty Statement
Biofuel production uses various biomasses via two different reactors that is, a
fixed bed reactor and a twin-screw reactor. The yield of oil in the range from
48 to 30 wt% in fixed bed reactor and 52 to 39 wt% in a twin-screw reactor and
biochar yield ranged from 36 to 24 wt% in fixed bed reactor and 32 to 16 wt%
in a twin-screw reactor. The high heating value (HHV) was optimum for bio-
oil produced via bamboo biomass (24.45 MJ/kg) whereas HHV for biochar pro-
duced via pyrolysis was found to be optimum for pinewood and sawdust bio-
mass (27 MJ/kg and 28 MJ/kg).

Leena Kapoor and Akbar Mohammad cont this study.

Int J Energy Res. 2022;1–9. [Link]/journal/er © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1
2 KAPOOR ET AL.

KEYWORDS
biomass, fixed bed reactor, pyrolysis, twin-screw reactor

1 | INTRODUCTION Accordingly, a few technologies have been developed with

time: pyrolysis, combustion, liquefaction, gasification, etc.
Biomasses are defined as those materials, exclusive of fos- Pyrolysis is considered to be one of the elementary pro-
sil fuels, which were living organisms that have the poten- cesses for converting the biomass thermochemical; it is
tial to be used as a fuel either directly or after converting also the primary step in combustion or gasification pro-
them. Biomass energy has been in use in India since cesses.6 The analyses of the pyrolysis of biomasses can find
ancient times, basically in the form of husk, firewood, cow their uses in controlling and optimizing these processes.7
dung cake, and many other natural feedstocks.1 Unfortu- Most of the research has been focused on the testing of dif-
nately, the burning of biomass directly produces a high ferent reactor configurations and the development of new
amount of smoke and ash. Consequently, biogas plants reactors.8 High amounts of bio-oil yield and high efficiency
were developed as they are pollution-free, that is, they pro- are the primary goals for several workers. Recently publi-
duce no smoke. The Indian government provided various shed reviews classify the reactors as bubbling fluidized bed
subsidies to establish biogas plants. Newer technologies reactors, ablative pyrolysis, entrained flow reactor, circu-
like biomass gasification were also developed that convert lating fluidized bed reactors, fixed bed fast pyrolysis reac-
biomass into syngas.2 A large part of the Indian population tor, screw reactor, rotating cone, and vacuum pyrolysis
resides in rural areas. Based on a survey in 2018, approxi- reactor.8
mately 66% of the Indian population lives in rural areas.3 Bridgwater9 has discussed all the reactor configura-
Due to the increase in the demand for energy in rural tions in several studies and has discussed the technical
areas, power generation plants based on biomass are on a aspects, that is, liquid collection methods, heating rate,
rising trend. Hence, to plan electrification for around and char removal methods, with their advantages and
0.638 million villages in India, biomass can be a vital disadvantages. Tsai et al10 have done a detailed analysis
option. The biomass availability in India is approximately of the fast pyrolysis technology focusing on the feedstock
around 500 metric tons per year. Thus, approximately characterization that is available in plenty, reactor
17 500 MW of power can be created by using biomass as design, products obtained through pyrolysis, and their
raw material.4 Apart from agricultural waste, biomass can upgrading. The commercial processes must necessarily
also be taken from other sources like an industrial waste have the stages: proper reception of the feed, its storage,
(eg, bagasse in sugar mills). In India, approximately pre-treatment and preparing the feed, conversion of solid
550 sugar mills are currently operating and thus, an biomass into bio-oil through the fast pyrolysis process,
expected 73 000 MW of energy can be produced by 2030 and, finally, upgrading the bio-oil to a desirable market-
by using bagasse as biomass.5 Various other potential able end-product such as biofuels. Although each one of
sources for biomass include roadside shrubs, road sweep- these reactors is being studied on a lab scale, none of the
ings, agro-based industries, vegetable wastes, plantations, reactors is superior to the other; however, some reactors
etc.1 Biofuel has a high potential in the energy sector, since have been found more viable for commercial applications
the fuel and thus, oxygen required for their operation can than others have. The five technologies are most suitable
be taken from their immediate environment, and this and feasible for the commercialization process. These
offers great potential as a power source.5 Energy through are: (a) bubbling fluidized-bed reactors; (b) circulating
biomass is believed to be the most favorable among the fluidized-bed reactors; (c) screw reactors; (d) vacuum
renewable energy sources (RES) as it is widely available reactors; and (e) ablative reactors, which can generate
worldwide. Biomass pyrolysis has an inimitable advantage adequate amounts of liquid fuel that is, bio-oil. The
of producing solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels, which can be results obtained from these technologies justify their mar-
transported, stored, and utilized, far away from their place ket attractiveness. Among all these reactors, the
of production. Due to the negligible amounts of nitrogen fluidized-bed technology is considered to be well-
and sulfur components present in biomass pyrolysis prod- understood while screw reactors are better used for het-
ucts, its use does not lead to environmental pollution.3 erogeneous feedstocks. Screw reactors can easily handle
Thermochemical conversion is considered one of the most feed and smooth operations. A considerable amount of
promising ways to achieve high-efficiency conversions of work has been done on biomass pyrolysis. Many different
biomasses, converting the biomasses into solid, liquid, and biomass feedstocks have been chosen for pyrolysis, for
gaseous products at relatively high temperatures.6 example, bark, wood, nuts, seeds, algae, grass, forestry
KAPOOR ET AL. 3

and agricultural residues, lignin, and cellulose. All these biomass was done to remove dirt, foreign materials, dust,
feedstocks have been tested under various pyrolysis con- etc. Biomass feedstock was then crushed and sieved to
ditions and in different pyrolysis reactors. A major por- size ranges 2 mm. Biomass feedstock was then dried to
tion of research has been done using olive bagasse, wheat remove the moisture content. The pyrolysis experiments
straw (agro-biomass), pinewood (woody biomass) bio- using these biomasses were then performed at a tempera-
masses as feedstocks.11 The intermediate pyrolysis of ture of 500
C.
rapeseed as reported in the literature12 was studied in
fixed bed reactors at a temperature of 550
C with a
heating rate of 300
C/min using 0.6- to 0.85-mm particle 2.2 | Experimental setup
size solids under nitrogen flow rates of 100 cm3/min. It
resulted in about 65 wt% of bio-oil yield. Neem seed The pyrolysis experiments were performed in two differ-
pyrolysis was studied in semi-batch reactors. It resulted ent biomass pyrolysis reactors, that is, twin-screw reactor
in 38 wt% yield of bio-oil operated at 400
C to 500
C at and fixed bed reactor. The twin-screw reactor is made up
the rate of 20
C/min.13 The intermediate pyrolysis of of a horizontal pipe (AISI 316 steel). Inside the reactor
groundnut as a feedstock was investigated in the fluid- pipe, two screws each of length 565 mm are assembled
ized bed reactor at 400
C to 475
C. It resulted in 63.48 wt along the length of the reactor. The rotation of the screws
% of bio-oil.14 From all of these studies, the five basic moves the biomass along the reactor, that is, from the
parameters of the resulting oil were identified, namely, inlet toward the hot zone and then toward the outlet of
viscosity, pH, density, and low heating value (LHV) the reactor. The reactor's outer surface is covered with an
(24.56 cSt, 4.20, 1.2 kg/m3, and 31.07 MJ/kg).15 It is found electrical resistance wire to provide the heat for the pyrol-
from the literature survey that only very few studies have ysis reaction. The temperature of the reactor is monitored
been done on fixed bed and twin-screw reactors using the with the help of two K-type thermocouples, one placed
fast pyrolysis method. Biomass pyrolysis incorporates sev- inside and the other one outside of the reactor. After
eral extremely complex reactions with quite a large num- completion of the reaction, hot vapors are made to pass
ber of intermediates and end products.16 Since devising through the condenser unit to get the liquid product, that
precise reaction, mechanisms for biomass pyrolysis are is, bio-oil, while the solid product, that is, bio-char, is col-
difficult, pyrolysis models are devised in a manner that is lected in a cylindrical enclosed flask attached to the reac-
more macroscopic and empirical. This research is aimed tor. The non-condensable gases move to an exhaust
at studying the effects of various process conditions on system.
the fixed bed and screw reactor using a few sample bio- The second rector used for this study is a fixed bed
[Link] study seeks to understand the potential for reactor. This is a vertical reactor system, which consists
producing bio-oil by pyrolysis of certain biomass that is of a vertical tube made of INCONEL 800. The length of
widely available in Uttarakhand, India. The motivation the vertical tube is around 3 ft. and the inner diameter of
for the study is the need to produce renewable liquid the vertical tube is around 25 mm. The vertical tube is
fuels. For experimentation, six different types of bio- covered with the electrical furnace, which provides the
masses were collected from the local agriculture field in heat for the pyrolysis reaction. In this reactor, setup three
the Dehradun region India. The collected biomass was thermocouples are installed along with digital tempera-
washed and dried properly to make it ready for experi- ture indicators. The hot vapors produced via pyrolysis
mentation. Two types of reactors were used for the pyrol- reaction are made to pass through two glass condensers
ysis, namely fixed bed reactors and twin screw/moving where cold water is circulated for quenching the vapors
bed reactors. The experimental results obtained from that are obtained via pyrolysis to get the desired bio-oil.
both the reactors were compared based on yields The solid obtained within the reactor is cooled and is
obtained. then weighed. The gas formed is measured by making a
difference.

2 | MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.3 | Experimental
2.1 | Biomass feedstock
Before starting the experiments, the operating conditions
Biomass such as sawdust, bagasse, bamboo, mustard, like the temperature of the reactor, biomass feed rate,
camellia, and pinewood which is otherwise waste was screw velocity in the case of the twin-screw reactor, and
collected from the nearby region. The pretreatment of the nitrogen flow rate were pre-defined. The first step
4 KAPOOR ET AL.

TABLE 1 Proximate, ultimate, and high heating value of biomass feedstock

Bamboo Mustard (Khari) Camellia Pinewood Sawdust Bagasse

Properties Proximate analysis wt%

Volatile matter 76.72 70.78 80.20 58.23 70.31 71.7
Ash content 2.57 14.98 4.78 2.3 6.98 6.8
Moisture 10.25 6.86 0.49 12.95 9.37 6.8
Fixed carbon 10.84 7.38 14.53 21.84 17.75 19.2
Ultimate analysis wt%
Carbon 44.90 46.31 38.90 48.96 43.17 44.61
Nitrogen 0.72 4.45 0.71 0.32 0.09 0.86
Hydrogen 6.038 7.055 5.875 4.761 5.081 5.671
Sulfur 0.018 0.036 0.165 0.05 0.04 0.02
Oxygen 48.342 42.149 54.35 34.51 36.87 43.52
Calorific value (MJ/kg)
Theoretical 16.2 19.06 13.02 17.86 16.02 16.31
Experimental 16.8 20.24 16.12 18.1 15.15 17.2

followed to perform the experiments was the preparation TABLE 2 ASTM standards for proximate analysis
of biomass samples, that is, the biomasses used were first Proximate analysis Standards
crushed, sieved, and dried completely. The temperature
Moisture ASTM E871
of the reactor was then set in the control panel attached
Ash ASTN E830, ASTN D 1102
to the reactor which ultimately raises the reactor temper-
ature to the required set limit. The temperature in the Volatiles ASTM E872/E897
reactor is monitored with the help of thermocouples Fixed carbon By difference
arranged along the reactor length. Three thermocouples
were being used in the case of the fixed bed reactor and
two thermocouples were used in the case of the twin-
screw reactor. The temperature of the reactor was collected and weighed. After the collection of bio-oil and
maintained constant throughout all the experimental char, the whole reactor assembly was cleaned properly
runs with the help of the temperature control panel. The with acetone.
coolant used was pumped along with the condensers.
The continuous nitrogen supply was maintained to create
an inert atmosphere inside the reactor. The motor in the 2.4 | Biomass characterization
case of the twin-screw reactor was then switched on to
rotate the twin screws in the reactor. In the case of the Elemental analysis of all biomass samples has been done
fixed bed reactor, the pre-weighed biomass sample was using an elemental analyzer (Perkin Elmer, 2400 series
kept inside the reactor for various time intervals while in II). The results of the proximate analysis, ultimate analy-
the case of the twin-screw reactor the biomass sample is sis, and high heating value are shown in Table 1. The
fed into the feeding hopper from where it moves inside proximate analysis for biomass samples was done as per
the reactor with the help of the screw arrangement. As the standard ASTM method, as shown in Table 2. The
the twin screw rotates the biomass samples move inside calorific value of all biomass feedstock is determined
the reactor where the pyrolysis reaction takes place. The through experiments in a bomb calorimeter. The theoret-
experimental run was considered complete when no bio- ical calorific value has been calculated using a modified
mass sample is observed in the feeding hopper and no Dulong equation:
gaseous product is visible at the exhaust of the reactor. At  
this stage, the heater and rotational motor (in the case of MJ 33:5  wt%carbon 14:2  wt%hydrogen
CV ¼ þ
kg 100 100
the twin-screw reactor) are switched off. The nitrogen ð1Þ
supply is then stopped. The coolant pump is then 15:4  wt%oxygen
 :
switched off. The bio-oil and char thus obtained are then 100
KAPOOR ET AL. 5

3.2 | Proximate and ultimate analysis of

100 Mustard biomass
Camellia
Bamboo
Sawdust
Figure 2 shows the effect of moisture content on the yield
80
Bagassae of biochar, bio-oil, and pyrolysis gases. The moisture con-
Weight (%)

Pinewood tent present in the biomass affects the heat transfer rate
60 significantly, which, in turn, influences the product yield.
In this study, it was found that the high moisture content
of the biomass leads to high liquid yields. Consequently,
40
biomasses such as pinewood, sawdust, and bamboo are
more favorable in bio-oil production (related to the lignin
20 content). The ratios of moisture content, ash content, vol-
atile matter, and fixed carbon content of various bio-
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 masses have an important effect on the product yields.
Temperature (°C) The biomass containing high volatile matter results in
high quantities of bio-oil and syngas, whereas the fixed
FIGURE 1 TGA analysis for different biomasses carbon increases the biochar production. The carbon,
oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and ash content significantly
affect the pyrolysis products. It was found that the bio-
The TGA analysis for selected biomass samples in this mass feedstocks with low nitrogen and mineral contents
study is done in a TGA instrument (TGA-Q600) with the result in high bio-oil and syngas production.
N2 flow rate maintained at 40 mL/min and a heating rate
of 10
C/min. The sample taken for TGA analysis was
10 mg. All the selected samples for this study were heated 3.3 | Product yield
to 900
C.
The amount of moisture present in the biomass sam- The amount of bio-oil and biochar produced via fast pyrol-
ples significantly affects the conversion of biomass via ysis experiments in both the reactor setup was calculated
pyrolysis, so the moisture has to be removed before carry- by weighing the biomass samples before and after each of
ing out pyrolysis. The ash content in biomass usually the experiments. The product yields are then calculated
helps in catalyzing secondary pyrolysis reactions, which based on the weight of the products formed and the weight
has a major influence on product yield while the volatile of the initial samples taken. The product streams obtained
matter content and fixed carbon present in the biomass through fast pyrolysis presence of condensate of organic
samples shows the ease with which biomass feedstocks compound, commonly known as biochar, and gaseous
can be burnt. products known as non-condensable vapors. It is observed
that a higher bio-oil yield was found for pinewood, bam-
boo, and sawdust due to their high volatile matter content.
3 | R ES U L T S A N D D I S C U S S I O N It is found that pinewood and bamboo biomasses resulted
in maximum bio-oil yield (52 wt%) and lowest biochar
3.1 | Thermogravimetric analysis yield (24 wt%). This is due to the presence of high cellulose
and hemicellulose content in the biomass which results in
Figure 1 shows the results of thermogravimetric analysis high bio-oil yields in comparison to biomass with high lig-
for six-biomass feedstock used in this study. It is found nin content.18 The high volatile matter in these biomasses
that all the six biomasses started to devolatilize between also favors high bio-oil production. A high ash content
the temperature ranges of 200
C and 300
C. Major result in a decreased production of bio-oil while the pro-
weight loss in all the biomass samples occurs at around duction of char and gas increases. Thus, a higher bio-oil
300
C to 400
C. At 400
C, the weight loss becomes steady yield can be obtained in biomasses having higher amounts
and slower; this indicates the formation of biochar, and of volatile matter and a lower amount of ash. The percent-
continued up to 500
C as a result the pyrolysis tempera- age of the lighter components was found to be lower in the
ture was chosen at 500
C. The range of degradation tem- case of the twin-screw reactor in comparison to a fixed bed
perature for Hemicellulose, Cellulose, and Lignin are reactor as also being observed by other workers.19 The
200
C to 300
C, 250
C to 350
C, and 200
C to 500
C, pyrolysis experiments were performed at the temperature
respectively.17 of 500
C, at a nitrogen flow rate of 526 mL/min, the
6 KAPOOR ET AL.

FIGURE 2 Effect of moisture content on (A) bio char yield, (B) bio-oil yield, and (C) pyrolysis gases

FIGURE 3 Experimental result of product yield from (A) fixed bed reactor and (B) screw reactor

residence time of 2 min. In the twin-screw reactor, the compared to the screw reactor. This result is due to the
screw rpm was kept at 55 rpm. The mass flow rate of bio- high heating rate in the twin-screw reactor.
mass in a screw reactor is 0.5 kg/h. The product yield from
both the reactor system is shown in Figure 3. A consider-
able amount of liquid is obtained in both the reactors, that 3.4 | Bio-oil and biochar analysis
is, auger and fixed bed reactor. From Figure 3 it can be
observed that the product yields, that is, liquid and gas are The product streams obtained through fast pyrolysis pres-
found to be different based on the reactor type. The liquid ence of condensate of organic compound better known as
yield decreases (from 2 to 10 wt%) while the gas yield oil, the solid formed commonly known as biochar, and gas-
increases (from 2 to 10 wt%) in the fixed bed reactor when eous products known as non-condensable gases. It has been
KAPOOR ET AL. 7

Ash Content chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) study using

60
Fixed Bed Reactor the NIST library. Components such as aldehydes, carbox-
51
Screw reactor 52 ylic acids, ketones, phenols, esters, and amides were
50 48 47 46 found to be the main chemical groups present in bio-oils.
45
43 It was observed that pinewood biomass contains signifi-
40 41
Bio Oil Yield (wt.%)

40 39 39 cant amounts of phenolic components, which is due to

the lignin content found in pinewood in comparison to
30 other biomasses used in this study. Similar results were
30
observed when compared to other studies.22 GC-MS anal-
20
ysis, thus, reveals that bio-oil from various biomasses
14.98 consists of mainly ketones, alkane, alkynes, amines,
alkene, imine, alcohols, and heterocyclic compounds.
10
6.98 Through GC-MS analysis, it is observed that bio-oils
4.78
3.2
2.57 2.3 obtained from various biomass samples have similar
0
components with a little amount of variation in the per-
Bamboo Mustard Camellia Saw dust Pinewood Bagasse
Biomass centage of saturates and aromatics. It is found that the
aromatics and saturates percentage were less in bio-oil
FIGURE 4 Effect of ash content on bio-oil yield produced from the fixed bed reactor in comparison to
bio-oil obtained from the moving bed reactor due to early
observed that various types of feedstocks produce different removal of pyrolysis products from the fixed bed reactor.
amounts of char, bio-oil, and varying gas compositions. The Through this study, it is also observed that hydrocarbons
samples taken from all the biomasses have shown similar are the most abundant product found in bio-oils. Other
compositions, which indicate good process stability. The workers had found naphthalene, fluorine, and other
percentage of the lighter components was found to be lower polycyclic aromatic compounds in bio-oil but in this
in the case of the twin-screw reactor in comparison to the study, none of these hydrocarbons was detected. This
fixed bed reactor as has also been observed by other may be due to the different biomass types, short gas resi-
workers. The screw reactor is associated with a fast-heating dence times, and low reaction temperatures.
rate and long residence times of the vapors, which results The calorific value of bio-oils obtained via pyrolysis in
in the formation of a severe product. Slow heating rate both the systems is found to be high, that is, comparable to
results in the gradual degradation of biomasses. The highest light fuel oil and, thus, can be used as a synthetic liquid
bio-oil yield found using the screw reactor was with pine- fuel. The biochar thus produced consists of initial mineral
wood (52 wt%) and the lowest with bagasse (39 wt%). This matter formed due to process severity. The ash content in
may be due to the presence of low ash content (2.3 wt%) biochar is found to be high and has similar values as those
and high cellulose content in the pinewood which got reported by other workers.23 The ash percentage was found
converted into bio-oil. Because of high ash content, agro to be 9 to 15 wt% based on the characteristic of the biomass
biomasses such as camellia, mustard, and bagasse presented feed. GC-MS was performed on an Agilent 6890 N unit with
lower yields of bio-oil, as shown in Figure 4. On the other a GC column 25-μm thickness, DB- 1701, 60  0.25 mm.
hand, by using the fixed bed reactor configuration the maxi-
mum amount of bio-oil was produced with bamboo. The
yields of biomasses obtained in this study are comparable to 3.6 | Calorific value for biomass
those obtained in other studies20 involving screw reactors
and fixed bed reactors. Available information collected from The calorific values were determined experimentally and
various sources21 establishes that the maximum bio-oil yield theoretically (HHV) for all the biomass feedstock is used
from various biomasses was found to be 50.12 wt% at pyrol- in this study. The calorific value thus determined from
ysis temperatures of 500
C under the sweeping gas of N2 both sources has an error of ±5%. It is found from this
with a flow rate of 100 mL/min. This is similar to our study that pinewood and bamboo bio-oil resulted in high
present work. calorific values in comparison to respective biochars and
biomasses. The biochar has a high calorific value in com-
parison to biomass samples due to the presence of a
3.5 | GC analysis of bio-oil lower percentage of hydrogen and oxygen than carbon,
which significantly increases the energy value of the fuel
The components present in bio-oil produced from bio- as more energy is contained in C–C bonds than in C–O
mass pyrolysis were found through a gas and C–H bonds.24 Figure 5 shows the calorific values of
8 KAPOOR ET AL.

FIGURE 5 Experimental and theoretical calorific value of biomass samples and products: (A) fixed bed reactor; (B) screw reactor

bio-oils obtained from the pyrolysis of bamboo, mustard, guidance. The authors would like to thank the Scientific
camellia, pinewood, bagasse, and sawdust. Bridgwater25 Research Deanship at King Khalid University, Abha,
stated that a higher heating value of bio-oil is produced Saudi Arabia for their financial support through General
from higher temperatures and shorter times. Research Project under grant number (GRP-6-42).
V.K.G. would like to acknowledge the institutional
research funding supported by the Scotland’s Rural Col-
4 | C ON C L U S I ON S lege (SRUC), UK.

Biomass pyrolysis experiments were performed in two dif- CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

ferent types of reactors, that is, fixed bed and twin-screw The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
reactors operating under similar temperature conditions
500
C and in an inert atmosphere of nitrogen. Biomass DA TA AVAI LA BI LI TY S T ATE ME NT
pyrolysis of biomasses at fast pyrolysis in a twin-screw reac- Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no
tor produced a maximum bio-oil yield of 52 wt% with pine- datasets were generated or analyzed during this study.
wood, biochar of 33 wt% from bamboo and gas of 32 wt%
from bagasse. In a fixed bed reactor, the optimum oil of ORCID
48 wt% with bamboo, biochar of 36 wt% and pyrolysis gases Vijai Kumar Gupta [Link]
34% from bagasse. Bamboo has produced bio-oil with a 5918
higher calorific value (24.45 MJ/kg) comparable with
bagasse (24 MJ/kg). Pinewood and sawdust have produced RE FER EN CES
biochar with higher calorific values (27 and 28 MJ/kg). The 1. Mlonka-Medrala A, Evangelopoulos P, Sieradzka M,
pyrolysis products obtained from this study can be used as Zajemska M, Magdziarz A. Pyrolysis of agricultural waste bio-
a possible energy source or chemical feedstock. Bio-oil can mass towards production of gas fuel and high-quality char: exper-
be used as a liquid fuel by improving its properties. imental and numerical investigations. Fuel. 2021;296:12061.
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(UPES, Dehradun), Dr K. K. Pant (Professor, Department energy resources, potential, conversion and policy in India.
of Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi) for the support and Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2015;45:530-539.
KAPOOR ET AL. 9

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161:80-92. 17. Jahirul MI, Rasul MG, Chowdhury AA, Nanjappa A. Produc-
5. Mohanty P, Pant KK, Parikh J, Sharma DK. Liquid fuel pro- tion through biomass pyrolysis- a technological review. Ener-
duction from syngas using bifunctional CuO–CoO–Cr2O3 cata- gies. 2012;5(12):4952-5001.
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8. Raza M, Inayat A, Ahmed A, et al. Progress of the pyrolyzer 21. McKendry P. Energy production from biomass (part 1): an
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 International Journal of Sustainable Energy

ISSN: 1478-6451 (Print) 1478-646X (Online) Journal homepage: [Link]

Experimental investigation of the pyrolysis of

biomass to produce green fuels

Leena Kapoor

To cite this article: Leena Kapoor (2019): Experimental investigation of the pyrolysis
of biomass to produce green fuels, International Journal of Sustainable Energy, DOI:
10.1080/14786451.2019.1566235

To link to this article: [Link]

Published online: 16 Jan 2019.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
[Link]

Experimental investigation of the pyrolysis of biomass to produce

green fuels
Leena Kapoor
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This work aims to utilise the experimental approach to perform the Received 3 August 2018
analysis of three-biomass feed stocks – bamboo, mustard and camellia Accepted 21 December 2018
and to provide insight into the operation and design of pyrolysis
KEYWORDS
processes. Experiments on biomass fast pyrolysis were performed in a Pyrolysis; bio oil; hydrous
fixed bed (tubular) reactor at a temperature of 500°C and a residence pyrolysis; tubular reactor
time of 2 min under the constant flow of nitrogen. The analysis of
pyrolysis gases and bio oil produced by pyrolysis was done using GC-MS
and GC-TCD. Hydrous pyrolysis of biomasses was performed in a high-
pressure autoclave for the temperature range 250–400°C and at a
pressure of 20 bar with 30 min of residence time. Experiments were
conducted both with and without the use of a catalyst. The pyrolysis
vapour is made to pass through the catalyst bed of ZSM-5 (Si/Al = 35).
The results for all the biomass samples are then compared.

1. Introduction
Due to potential climate changes and high crude prices, bio fuels have attracted considerable atten-
tion of many researchers. The use of biomass provides a clean source of energy that will improve our
environment from pollution (Badea et al. 2008). The energetic and industrial usage of biomass is
becoming more and more technologically and economically attractive. Biomass can be transformed
through both thermal and biological processes into various forms of energy. The thermal process for
biomass conversion uses heat and catalysts to convert biomass into chemicals, fuels and electric
power. Mainly three thermal processes are being used for converting biomass into various useful
forms of biofuels, i.e. pyrolysis, direct combustion and gasification (Kassaye, Pant, and Jain 2017).
In recent times, a high temperature conversion process known as fast pyrolysis has increasingly
being studied to convert biomass into char and bio oil (Orfao, Antunes, and Figueiredo 1999).
Fast pyrolysis is considered one of the emerging technologies which produces more amount of liquid
product, i.e. large yield of bio oil. Though it offers high conversion efficiency, it suffers from the dis-
advantage of large energy necessities, making it energetically and economically limited. However, at
low to moderate temperature conditions processes such as hydrous pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion
transform wet biomass into bio crude and biogas, respectively. Thus in comparison to conventional
pyrolysis, hydrous pyrolysis can operate at moderate temperature conditions. With hydrous pyrol-
ysis the whole biomass can be converted to bio fuel with a relatively high solid residue, high heating
value and gaseous mixture (N2, H2, CH4, CO2, CO) along with aqueous product rich in organics
(Choudhary, Malik, and Pant 2017). The reactor temperature is considered to be one of the main
parameters that affects the yield and composition in hydrous pyrolysis (Choudhary, Malik, and
Pant 2017).

CONTACT Leena Kapoor lkapoor@[Link]

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 Biofuels

ISSN: 1759-7269 (Print) 1759-7277 (Online) Journal homepage: [Link]

Biomass pyrolysis in a twin-screw reactor to

produce green fuels

Leena Kapoor, Debajyoti Bose & Aditya Mekala

To cite this article: Leena Kapoor, Debajyoti Bose & Aditya Mekala (2017): Biomass pyrolysis in a
twin-screw reactor to produce green fuels, Biofuels, DOI: 10.1080/17597269.2017.1345360

To link to this article: [Link]

Published online: 13 Jul 2017.

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BIOFUELS, 2017
[Link]

Biomass pyrolysis in a twin-screw reactor to produce green fuels

Leena Kapoora, Debajyoti Bose b
and Aditya Mekalaa
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Uttarakhand, Dehradun 248007, India; bDepartment of
Electrical, Power & Energy, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Uttarakhand, Dehradun 248007, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This paper highlights work done with a twin-screw reactor or auger reactor, with temperature Received 2 February 2017
profiles of near 500  C, and sawdust and bagasse biomass. Analysis of the solid biofuel, i.e. Accepted 19 May 2017
biochar, is given, along with proximate and ultimate analysis of biomass feedstocks. System KEYWORDS
limitations are profiled and issues related to bio-oil production are addressed. Design changes Pyrolysis; screw reactors; bio-
in the existing system are suggested, using SOLIDWORKS software to optimize the existing oil; bagasse; sawdust
design where this experimentation has been done. It is believed the design changes would
make the facility more efficient. Nitrogen gas is used to maintain the velocity profile of the
biomass particles inside the reactor. This work does not have the food vs fodder conflict as the
biomass feeds used are primarily wood wastes and sugar industry by-products.

Introduction biomasses are investigated, through proximate and ulti-

mate analysis, to assess their bio-oil potential. The objec-
The consistent use of renewable energy components is
tive of this work is to propose suitable design changes
an effective way to reduce the dependence on fossil
for a twin-screw reactor to carry out the intermediate
fuels (crude oil, natural gas and coal), especially in the
pyrolysis for the production of bio-oil. Investigation of
industrialized nations. The introduction of renewable
the heating schedule employed such as slow heating
energy can make a remarkable contribution to reducing
rate (SHR) pyrolysis and high heating rate (HHR) pyrolysis
CO2 emissions, which essentially reduces the carbon
is also studied. This study is favorable toward the devel-
footprint and thus diminishes the anthropogenic green-
opment of an advanced pyrolysis process.
house effect. Statistics reveal that the United States alone
was responsible for 15.9% of worldwide anthropogenic
CO2 emissions in 2015, while the economic powerhouses
of China and India produced 28.03% and 5.81%, respec- The background of fast pyrolysis
tively [1]. For example, nearly one third of the emissions The greater the extent of biomass particles, the greater
from the United States is due to automobiles [2]. the temperature slopes will be, prompting lower tem-
Among all renewables, biomass is considered car- peratures that support the development of biomass
bon neutral, and hence a suitable alternative to be [6]. Bridgewater [7] evaluated the standards and rou-
used in the long run as raw material for production of tine of biomass quick pyrolysis forms and the variables
carbon-containing materials and other energy sources. impacting process plan contemplations. Plan variables
The addition of biomass to mobility is, however, sub- required for quick pyrolysis incorporate the following:
ject to controversy in the public and in professional bolster drying, molecule size, pre-treatment, reactor
circles [3]. However, without any doubt, liquid fuels are design, heat supply, heat exchange, warming rates,
far more promising to solid fuels such as coal and bio- response temperature, vapor living arrangement time,
mass, as they have high energy densities which will auxiliary breaking, roast partition, powder detachment,
continue to make a significant contribution, particu- and fluid accumulation. Every one of these angles was
larly in the transport sector. Pyrolysis is the thermal surveyed and disucssed. Because of the unpredictabil-
degradation of complex organic molecules in an oxy- ity of the procedure, the impact of working conditions
gen-free environment [4]. It is a thermo-chemical pro- on the bio-oil properties is extremely process-particu-
cess of biomass conversion where the first step is lar. For more analytical data about fast pyrolysis essen-
gasification and combustion; compared to other bio- tials, users should peruse the broad literature surveys
mass conversion processes, it has a low temperature by Bridgwater [7], Mohan et al. [8], Venderbosch et al.
profile [5]. [9], and Meier et al. [10]. A lot of research has been
In the present study, the detailed physiochemical done worldwide on biomass pyrolysis using various
characteristics, availability and suitability of selected types of reactors, but not much work has been done in

CONTACT Leena Kapoor lkapoor@[Link]

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 L. KAPOOR ET AL.

a twin-screw reactor. This scant knowledge has

prompted the current foray into this activity.

Method
A twin-screw reactor was used for pyrolysis of biomass
feed through an exothermic reaction to get biofuels.
The process employed is fast pyrolysis, which is a high-
temperature process in the absence of oxygen, where
biomass is rapidly heated. The twin-screw reactor has a
compact design with the advantage that it can process
Figure 1. Schematics of the experimental setup. 1 – nitrogen
lower temperatures, but it suffers with the disadvan-
cylinder, 2 – rota meter, 3 – screw feeder, 4 – twin-screw reac-
tage of having moving parts in the hot zone. tor, 5 – char tank, 6 – condenser assembly, 7 – outlet.
The main components of the reactor system are:

1. Biomass feeding assembly given later. The overall system used in this experiment
2. Heat carrier sub-system is shown in Figure 1.
3. Auger (twin-screw) reactor assembly The equipment used for this experimental setup
4. Product recovery through condenser and char was a twin-screw reactor with a screw length of 565
tank system mm. Figure 4 (design made in SOLIDWORKS® 2014)
and accordingly the system was assembled. There
Other utilities: were two sections: the first section performed the task
of feeding and conveying the biomass, and the tem-
1. Frog pumps were installed, as well as a related perature was monitored using K-type thermocouples
piping arrangement connecting the condensers through various openings on top of the extruder. The
to one another and establishing the water circu- second portion was used for heating and mixing; the
lation network through the condensers. temperature was 454 C. Normally, the extruder wall
2. Nitrogen cylinders were used. temperature was 25–30 C lower compared to the tem-
perature of the coil used to heat it externally. There are
Three biomass sources were explored in this work, five orifices on the reactor; the diameter for each was
viz. bagasse, sawdust and pine wood. All were sub- 0.78 mm.
jected to proximate and ultimate analysis. Gross calo- Cooling water was added into the condenser using
rific value (GCV) was determined using a bomb a water pump. The moisture content of sawdust in the
calorimeter. For all of the feed materials used, the feed extruder was maintained at 5.58%. The sawdust was
preparation step discussed later explains all experi- fed by a screw feeder whose speed was maintained in
mentation including moisture analysis. This work the range of 18–30 rpm. The feed rate was highlighted
reports the formation of solid biofuel, which is the bio- in the form of rpm on the control panel. Figure 1 shows
char for all three feed materials, but due to technical the calibration to convert the feed rate from rpm to kg/
problems with electric utilities and the reactor, liquid hr for the biomass feed input.
biofuel was not achieved. However, design changes
were made which would increase the feasibility of pro-
Feed material
ducing liquid biofuel using this system.
Pinewood, bagasse and sawdust were pyrolyzed at The biomass material used for the experiments was
450 C (reactor temperature) with a nitrogen stream locally sourced from Dehradun. Bagasse and sawdust
rate of 526 mL/min at air weight. Under these condi- came in their natural form. Before each test on the
tions the nitrogen temperature at its channel in the pyrolysis reactor, samples of each feedstock were prop-
reactor was observed to be 65 § 4 C. The rotational erly prepared. Bagasse was brought from Doiwala
speed of the screw was held at 55 rpm. The tests were Sugar Plant, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, whereas simple
conducted with 50 g biomass samples as portrayed wooden sawdust and pinewood sawdust were pro-
below. The temperature of the refrigerant liquid cured from local carpenters at Saharanpur Chowk, Deh-
(water) was kept at 10 C. The test conditions depended radun, Uttarakhand.
on trial runs to check effectiveness of the system which These raw materials were sieved at approximately
were completed prior to actual experimentations. The 2 mm and then analyzed. Figure 2 shows their proxi-
trial suggests the above conditions are the most mate analysis and GCV.
encouraging states for a fast pyrolysis process with the An ultimate analysis (shown in Figure 3) was done
highest yields of bio-oil, without trading off its proper- for the feeds. The sulfur content was found to be very
ties. The process yields biochar, an analysis of which is low; hence, it has been represented jointly with other
 BIOFUELS 3

Table 2. Gross calorific value of biomass feeds used in the

system.
Sawdust Bagasse Pine Wood
Gross calorific value (kcal/kg) 2071.86 3965.18 8365.6

biofuel or biochar, which can further justify the use of

biomass for making biochar. The utilization of biomass
as feedstock from which to create alternate energy fuel
is not a new idea [11]. Be that as it may, innovation
exists where these assets are utilized to give vitality
and, in the meantime, the chance to sequester carbon
Figure 2. Proximate analysis of biomass feeds used in the sys-
tem .
from the environment [12]. The pyrolysis of biomass
serves to give vitality (by means of bio-oil and syngas
that are used in this way to run steam turbines) and
the intentionally delivered material ‘biochar’.

Reactor
The main body of the reactor consists of a horizontal
pipe made of AISI 316 steel. Inside the main pipe as
assembled, two screws run all along the pipe length.
At both ends, gears are arranged with the screw impos-
ing a rotational movement. The rotation of the screw
Figure 3. Ultimate analysis of biomass feeds used in the carries the biomass sample from the biomass inlet
systems. toward the reaction zone to the product collection
point at the other end of the pipe. An electrical resis-
tance coil over the main pipe provides heat for the
Table 1. Feed rate calibration data. reaction and defines the reaction zone. The tempera-
S. no. Screw feeder (rpm) Feed rate of biomass feed (kg/hr) ture is monitored using thermocouples located along
1 10 13.92
2 15 19.50
the pipe. Nitrogen is used as an inert carrier gas. After
3 20 24.78 completion of the reaction, char is quickly collected in
4 25 32.88 an enclosed flask, and bio-oil is collected in flasks by
5 30 44.62
rapid condensation of the hot vapors in two condensa-
tion stages. The non-condensable gases proceed to an
gases present in the system. Oxygen content is highest exhaust system.
in bagasse and carbon content is high in sawdust, For the lab-based fast pyrolysis system, a feed rate
meaning sawdust is preferable over bagasse and pine between 0.5 and 2.0 kg/hr was studied. Hence, a calcu-
wood. lated biomass feed rate of 1.0 kg/hr was selected for
All of the biomass feeds were sieved and a 2-mm carrying out all the experiments. The heat carrier was
particle size was kept constant for all materials. Then sand, mixed with biomass (1:1) and charged into the
moisture removal was done to facilitate proper pyroly- feed hopper. The SOLIDWORKS® 2014 professional
sis, followed by storage and then use in the auger reac- software was used extensively during the design phase
tor. Simultaneously, a bomb calorimeter was used for for liquid biofuel. Dimensions for the reactor are given
determining the GCV of the samples, which is given in in Table 3.
Table 2. There are two routes for the vapor to travel after the
The analysis shows pinewood to have the highest reaction: one is downstream from the product outlet
GCV, by a significant margin; this shows a greater tube of the reactor into the condenser and the same
potential of pinewood to be used especially as solid line is connected from the char tank with 0.7-in (1.77-

Figure 4. Reactor shell designed in SOLIDWORKS® 2014.

4 L. KAPOOR ET AL.

Table 3. Details of reactor. Biochar is a carbon-rich material from the pyrolysis

Reactor dimensions Dimensions of biomass. The application of biochar to soil is a note-
Length 50 cm worthy long-term sink of barometrical carbon dioxide
Inner diameter, vertical 3 cm
Inner diameter, horizontal 4 cm in physical biological systems. The role of biochar in
Volume 471.29 cm3 carbon sequestration in decreasing the emanation of
nursery gasses, and enhancing soil ripeness, prompted
cm) outer diameter stainless steel tubing, shown in the idea to use biochar in the alteration of soils. Biochar
figure below and residual vapor from the char tank offers a basic, manageable device for turning so as to
through tubings connected to condenser form the sec- oversee rural and urban squanders it into significant
ondary line Figure 5 . There is, however, no facility items [13]. The consolidation of biochar in soil can cre-
maintained to filter the fine biochar particles. Biochar is ate both short- and long-term impacts on its well-
collected in a 4.5-L capacity stainless steel canister, as being. Transient advantages incorporate a liming
shown in Figure 6. Liquid water flows through the con- impact for soils with low pH, and long-term impacts
denser as a cooling fluid to condense the volatile gases incorporate expanded nutrient supplements and an
into a liquid. increased water maintenance limit of soil, which can
After the product stream enters a set of three water- influence the harvest efficiency [14]. The reason for
cooled brass condensers, it is condensed, using water applying biochar to soil mostly falls into four general
as the cooling fluid at a temperature of 10 C. The con- classes: agricultural gains, management of the dangers
densers are single-tube heat exchangers with quick- of contamination and eutrophication to nature, resto-
clamp tubing. There is an assembly of three condens- ration of degraded land, and sequestration of carbon
ers. The bio-oil formed is collected in glass beakers. from the air.

Figure 5. The pyrolysis system on which experiments were conducted.

Figure 6. Char tank to collect solid biofuel (5.84 L capacity).

 BIOFUELS 5

Figure 7. One of the twin screws, made in SOLIDWORKS® 2014

(refer to Table 4 for data).

Table 4. Data for the twin screws inside the reactor.

Screw dimensions Dimensions
Length 56.5 cm
Inner diameter, vertical 1.4 cm
Pitch 2.5 cm
No. of turns 15

Twin screws
Figure 7 shows the design of the screw made in SOLID-
WORKS®, and the data for the twin screw inside the
reactor is given in Table 4. Figure 8. Dimensions for modified design (in inches).

Results and discussion resulted in a more-oxygenated char and a less oxy-

Equal proportions of sand and biomass were mixed genated bio-oil for bagassae when compared to
and discharged inside the reactor through the feed sawdust.
hopper. Sand was used as a heat carrier. In principle Sawdust showed the highest bio-oil yield and the
using a heat carrier such as sand should not be a lowest char yield, comparable to similar screw reactor
problem, but problems related to wear have been studies [9,15]. Its relatively good performance is related
reported. However, char or solid biofuel was formed to its low ash content (0.2 wt.%), and to its usual major
successfully in the present system within a residence cellulose content [as discussed in 15], of which most is
time of 8 seconds. Table 5 gives the biochar charac- converted into bio-oil [15]. The bagasse presented a
teristics of the biomass feeds used in the system. Ash lower yield of bio-oil than did pinewood as a conse-
analysis shows that the ash content in the char quence of its higher ash content (see Table 5).
obtained from pyrolysis of sawdust is low in compari- The theoretical establishment of biochar as an air
son with the char obtained from the pyrolysis of bag- CO2 evacuation component lies in the photosynthetic
assae. The ash content in the char of bagassae procedures that create the biomass to be utilized for
indicates that the oxygen settled in the mineral biochar generation. As biomass develops, it draws CO2
matrix of the initial feedstock was turned to char from the air. The creation of biochar changes over rela-
rather than bio-oil, which may have resulted in less tively labile C (carbon) present in the biomass into
bio-oil but higher oxygenated chars for bagassae. As stubborn C intensities that oppose mineralization.
result, sawdust, with the lowest ash content, had the Thus, the rate of return of C to the climate is extraordi-
highest carbon content and the lowest O/C ratio. narily reduced. It is the contrast between the (moder-
Thus, the O/C analysis for the chars suggests that oxy- ately quick) rate of air CO2 sequestration in biomass
gen settled in the mineral matrix of initial feedstock contrasted with the ensuing (generally moderate) rate
and was turned to char rather than bio-oil, which at which biochar C is mineralized that offers a route to
net stockpiling of C, and by this token the chance to
Table 5. Biochar characteristics of the biomass feeds used in create warmth and force by C-negative means.
the system. In the setup demonstrated here we found that the
Analysis Sawdust Bagasse passage of nitrogen was often obstructed, and the gas
Ash (Wt. %) 11 36 formed after the heating of the biomass found it very
Moisture (Wt. %) 3.2 1.3
C (Wt. %) 75 60 difficult to travel to the condenser and accumulated
H (Wt. %) 3.5 2.9 mostly in the char tank, although it should be men-
N (Wt. %) <0.5 2.2
S (Wt. %) <2 <2
tioned that some leaks were detected in the system
O (Wt. %) 19 32.9 that contributed to the condensable and uncondensed
O/C 0.25 0.55 gases escaping from the system.
H/C 0.09 0.05
HHV, MJ/kg 27.3 21.6 Based on the aforementioned observations, the fol-
LHV, MJ/kg 25.9 22.9 lowing design improvements are suggested:
6 L. KAPOOR ET AL.

Figure 9. Char tank before modification, with 4.84-L capacity (left), and after modification, with 6.5-L capacity (right).

1. Inlet to the condenser connected from the reac- (diameter 0.3 inches) for thermocouples for measuring
tor instead of the char tank. temperature. The remaining three slots are for the gas
2. Increase the capacity of the char tank (the tank outlets. The gas is collected from the three slots, fur-
used in this study has a capacity of 5.84 L). ther combined into one slot, and then condensed
3. Employ separate screw feeders for the entry of through a condenser and converted into bio-oil. This
biomass and sand into the system. bio-oil is the final product of the project. Some work
4. The present system has some problems with based on the suggested design and insulation has
gases escaping through leakages; these need to been done at a workshop in Delhi; this work includes
be addressed. but is not restricted to improving the functioning of
5. Temperature ranges above 500 C should be the impeller at the sand preheating section, installing
investigated; the present system uses glass wool new heating coils and new clamp fittings, increasing
as insulation for the reactor. the char tank capacity to 6.5 L (from 4.8 L) as shown in
6. Installation of a cyclone separator to remove the Figure 9, changing the electrical units (connection
suspended particles through vortex separation. related), and widening the char tank inlet from the
reactor to 25 mm (from 18 mm), as shown in Figure 8.
This work demonstrates that the formation of pyrol- Also, the temperature profile for the new study will be
ysis oil or bio-oil is a tricky process, and the proposed 600–700 C, with new temperature coils used.
design is presently being revised. Figure 7 shows the
dimensions in inches for the system that is being
designed presently.
Conclusion
In different reactors such as a fluidized bed reactor The present work ends here with the possibility of bio-
(bubbling, circulating type), rotary cone reactor, and oil production from this new, improved design. This
batch reactor, ablative conversion techniques are used work has demonstrated the system is feasible for pro-
for thermochemical (pyrolysis) processes, and different ducing biofuel, and hence it can be speculated to take
process parameters and feed composition are explored this design from R &D to commercialization. With the
to obtain green fuel (biochar) for commercialization via help of platforms such as the National Biofuel Policy,
the pyrolysis process. In general, there is no automatic pyrolysis units can cater to the need for alternative
choice regarding which type of reactor is to be used, fuel. It is believed the fast pyrolysis of biomass has the
as they all have their limitations depending on what potential to meet the global need for liquid fuels in
product is required and what the process conditions terms of petroleum substitutes, and also for other
are. Reactor choice and process conditions are totally chemicals. However, the complex mechanism of the
dependent on pyrolysis process conditions and differ- feeding system coupled with variability makes it diffi-
ent types of pyrolysis processes (slow, intermediate, cult to come up with a definitive standard process. The
fast, flash, etc.). Selection is thus based on the require- investigated parameters of reactor temperature of
ments of the end product. 350–450 C by means of heating coils, and initial flow
Figure 7 shows the top view of the reactor. Starting rate and residence time of solids of 2–4 kg/h and 6–8
from the bottom of the figure the first opening is for seconds, respectively, were used to examine the effect
the sand feed, with a motor. The second opening is for of the heating rate on the process, and it is reported
the biomass feed. Next there are several small slots that in this setup solid biochar is formed successfully
 BIOFUELS 7

but the liquid product requires further system integra- [5] Hornung U, Schneider P, Hornung A, et al. Sequential
tion. Suitable changes have been proposed and are pyrolysis and catalytic low temperature reforming of
being developed presently to continue this study, wheat straw. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis. 2009;85:145–150.
[6] Mellin P. An Euler–Euler approach to modeling biomass
which would lead to production of liquid biofuel or
fast pyrolysis in fluidized-bed reactors–Focusing on the
bio-oil from this system. It is believed that bio-oil will gas phase. Appl Therm Eng. 2013;58:344–353.
contribute significantly to fuelling transportation, heat- [7] Bridgewater A, Anthony V. Biomass fast pyrolysis. Therm
ing, or electricity generation of the future. Sci. 2004;8.2:21–50.
[8] Mohan D, Charles P, Philip S. Pyrolysis of wood/biomass
for Bio-oil: a critical review. Energ Fuel. 2006;20: 848–
Disclosure statement 889.
[9] Venderbosch H, Wolter P. Fast pyrolysis technology
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. development. Biofuel Bioprod Biorefin. 2010;4.2:178–
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