Utilization of Biomass (2) Bioenergy Conversion Routes

Question of the Day

What are the advantages and disadvantages of anaerobic
digestion?

Lecture 20.1 Lecture 20.2

Topics of The Day Pyrolysis

¾ Pyrolysis ¾ Biomass pyrolysis refers to a process where

biomass is exposed to moderate temperatures in
¾ Hydrothermal liquefaction the absence of air, causing the biomass to
¾ Anaerobic digestion decompose.
¾ Fermentation ¾ The end product of pyrolysis is a mixture of
solids (char), liquids (oxygenated oils) and gases
(methane, carbon monoxide and carbon
dioxide).
¾ Conditions for producing pyrolysis oil are more
likely to include virtually no oxygen.
Lecture 20.3
Lecture 20.4

Pyrolysis Pyrolysis for Biochar Production

¾ Slow pyrolysis: reduce wood to charcoal.

¾ Fast pyrolysis (flash pyrolysis) takes place in less
than two seconds with temperatures between 300
and 550°C.
¾ For flash pyrolysis the biomass must be ground
into fine particles. The insulating char layer that
forms at the surface of the reacting particles must
be continuously removed. Charcoal kiln

Lecture 20.5 Lecture 20.6

 Fast Pyrolysis Fast Pyrolysis

¾ Fast pyrolysis is the rapid thermal decomposition ¾ Fast pyrolysis of biomass produces a liquid
of organic compounds in the absence of oxygen to product, pyrolysis oil or bio-oil that can be readily
produce liquids, gases and char. The final products stored and transported. Liquid: low viscosity, dark-
depends on the biomass composition and rate and brown fluid with up to 15-20% water. Heating
value: 17-20 MJ/kg.
duration of heating. Liquid yields as high as 78%.
¾ Fast pyrolysis has now achieved a success for
¾ Rapid quenching is essential. Otherwise liquids production of chemicals and is being actively
will be further decomposed to gases. developed for producing liquid fuels.
¾ Reactors: bubbling fluid beds, circulating and
transported beds, cyclonic reactors, and ablative
Lecture 20.7 reactors. Lecture 20.8

Flowchart of Pyrolysis Pyrolysis

Lecture 20.9 (Source: DOE) Lecture 20.10 (Brown, 2003)

Pyrolysis Pros and Cons of Pyrolysis

Advantages:
ƒ Liquid bio-oil that can be readily stored and transported.
ƒ Pyrolysis oil is a renewable liquid fuel and can also be
used for production of chemicals.
ƒ Efficiency: as high as 75% based on the starting dry
biomass weight.
ƒ Pyrolysis oil has been successfully tested in engines,
turbines and boilers, and has been upgraded to high
quality hydrocarbon fuels although at a presently
unacceptable energetic and financial cost.
Lecture 20.11 Lecture 20.12
 Pros and Cons of Pyrolysis Direct Hydrothermal Liquefaction

Disadvantages: ¾ Direct hydrothermal liquefaction involves

converting biomass to an oily liquid by contacting
ƒ Difficulty in phase-separation and the biomass with water at elevated temperatures
polymerization of the liquids. (300-350°C) with sufficient pressure to maintain
ƒ Corrosion of the containers. the water primarily in the liquid phase (12-20
ƒ Incompatible with conventional hydrocarbon MPa) for residence times up to 30 minutes.
fuels due to high O2 and water content. ¾ Aqueous phase (vs. dry feedstock).
ƒ Much lower quality. Upgrading is needed. ¾ Low T (vs. 450-600°C) and high P (vs. 1 atm).
ƒ High cost. ¾ Long time (vs. 0.5-2 s).
Lecture 20.13
Lecture 20.14

Direct Hydrothermal Liquefaction Hydrothermal Liquefaction

¾ Alkali may be added to promote organic
conversion.
¾ The primary product is an organic liquid with
reduced oxygen content (about 10%) and the
primary byproduct is water containing soluble
organic compounds.
¾ Liquid product: Heating value – 36MJ/kg, Overall
thermal efficiency – 80-90%.
¾ Difficulty in practical implementation due to high
pressure. Lecture 20.16
Lecture 20.15

Indirect Liquefaction Gasification (Indirect Liquefaction)

¾ Indirect liquefaction produces liquid fuel by gasifying low-value

organic materials to a mixture of H2 and CO, known as syngas,
followed by catalytic or biological synthesis to ethanol,
methanol or other chemical compounds.
¾ Two distinct approaches to converting syngas to chemicals are
possible.
ƒ The traditional approach involves a moderate-temperature,
high-pressure catalytic chemical synthesis of methanol or
synthetic gasoline.
ƒ A more recently developed approach, yet to be commercially
applied, employs microorganisms that are able to grow on
one-carbon compounds to convert syngas into organic acids
F-T synthesis: (2n+1)H 2 +nCO → Cn H (2n+2) +2nH 2 O
or alcohols.
Lecture 20.17 Lecture 20.18
 Comparison of Bio-Oils Anaerobic Digestion
¾ Anaerobic digestion is a process by which
organic matter is decomposed by bacteria in the
absence of oxygen to produce methane and
other byproducts.
¾ The process occurs in stages, each involving
specific types of bacteria that successively break
down the organic matter into simpler organic
compounds – biogas, which is a mixture of CH4,
CO2 and some trace gases.

Lecture 20.19 Lecture 20.20

Microbial Phases in Anaerobic Digestion Product of Anaerobic Digestion

¾ All anaerobic digesters produce two effluent
streams: biogas and sludge.
¾ Most digestion systems produce biogas that is
CH4 +
CO2
between 55 and 75% methane by volume with
the balance consisting of CO2 along with traces
of H2S.
¾ The amount of biogas produced depends both on
the composition of the feedstock and the design
of the digester.
Lecture 20.21 (Brown, 2003) Lecture 20.22

Digesters Single-Tank Digesters

¾ Anaerobic digesters can be broadly characterized as
single-tank or two-tank reactors (also known as
conventional or two-phase reactors, respectively).
¾ The single tank can be operated in one of several
modes:
ƒ Batch mode: the reactor is loaded with feedstock only once
and microbial reactions are allowed to proceed to completion.

ƒ Intermittent mode: periodically adds additional feedstock as

aqueous slurry while drawing off an equal volume of fermenter
broth. (Retention time 30-60 days.)

ƒ Continuous mode: Mixing, retention time 20 days.

Lecture 20.23 Lecture 20.24 (Brown, 2003)
 Two Phase Digesters Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket

Acid-formation
Methane-formation

Lecture 20.25 (Brown, 2003) Lecture 20.26

Dry Digestion Landfill Biogas

Lecture 20.27 Lecture 20.28 (Boyle, 2004)

Pros and Cons of Digestion Pros and Cons of Digestion

Advantages: Disadvantages:
ƒ Slow reaction rates: The breakdown of cellulose to sugars
ƒ The ability to use non-sterile reaction vessels. may require reaction times as long as a month to achieve
ƒ Automatic product separation by outgassing. high yields of methane.
ƒ Low methane yields: Although the theoretical weight yield
ƒ Relatively simple equipment and operations. of methane from glucose is 27wt-%, the complex of lignin
ƒ Its adaptability to numerous feedstocks. and cellulose known as lignocellulose in plant materials
results in substantially lower yields of methane than might
otherwise be expected from cellulose.
ƒ Toxic and corrosive gas: Microbial reduction of sulfate and
other sulfur compounds to hydrogen sulfide that
complicates the use of biogas.
Lecture 20.29 Lecture 20.30
 Integrated Waste Material Plant Fermentation
¾ Fermentation refers to the process of deriving energy
from the oxidation of organic compounds using an
endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an
organic compound.
¾ Respiration uses an exogenous electron acceptor, such as
oxygen, via an electron transport chain.
¾ Fermentation requires no oxygen.
¾ Some of the products from fermentation include ethanol,
lactic acid, hydrogen, and butyric acid.

Lecture 20.32
Lecture 20.31 (Boyle, 2004)

Ethanol Fermentation Corn Ethanol

From sucrose to glucose:

C12 H 22 O11 +H 2 O+invertase → 2C6 H12 O6

C6 H12 O6 +zymase → 2C2 H 5OH+2CO 2

Ever-increasing corn ethanol production

raises concerns over food prices, use of
fertilizers and pesticides, water resources, and
so on.
Lecture 20.33 Lecture 20.34

Production Process- Wet milling Production Process- Dry Grind

DDGS: Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles.

Advantages: production of valuable co-products, e.g., corn oils. Much cheaper than wet-milling. Recent corn ethanol production
Disadvantages: use of SO2, expensive equipment. plants are all based on dry grinding.
Lecture 20.35 Lecture 20.36
 Cellulosic Ethanol Cellulosic Ethanol vs. Corn Ethanol

Production Process of Cellulosic Ethanol.

Lecture 20.37
Lecture 20.38

Pretreatment and Cellulolysis Current Status and Challenges

¾ Pretreatment – to break down the rigid structure of ¾ Ethanol production from lignocellulose is a feasible
lignocelluloses materials. Current pretreatment techniques technology and can utilize many biomass resources as the
include acid hydrolysis, steam explosion, ammonia fiber feedstock.
expansion, hydrothermal hydrolysis, and sulfite ¾ Cellulosic ethanol is still expensive ($4.13 per gallon vs.
pretreatment. $1.60~$1.90 per gallon corn ethanol).
¾ Pretreatment products such as furfural and
¾ It is a hot research topic. Efforts include growing high-
hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) may inhibit the enzyme- yield energy crops, improving biomass harvesting,
catalyzed ethanol production. storage and transportation, finding highly active enzymes
¾ Cellulolysis – to hydrolyze cellulose into sugars (sucrose and catalysts for pretreatment, and cellulolysis.
and glucose). There are two major processes: chemical
hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis.
Lecture 20.39 Lecture 20.40

Transportation Fuels Generation Requirements as Fuel

¾ Pyrolysis liquefaction ¾ Availability

¾ Hydrothermal liquefaction ¾ Transportability
¾ Indirect liquefaction ¾ Energy density
¾ Fermentation

Lecture 20.41
Lecture 20.42