07 04100293 Co-pyrolysis of wood biomass and synthetic polymers mixtures. Part Ill: characterisation of heavy products Sharypov, V. I. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2003, 67, (2), 3255340. The chemical composition of heavy liquids (boiling point > 180°C) obtained by co-pyrolysis of polyolefinsiwood biomass mixtures in autoclave conditions under inert atmosphere was investigated by FTIR, ‘H NMR, GC-MS, high performance TLC combined with densitometry techniques. The preliminary separation of heavy liquids into different fractions by open LC and TLC methods had been used. Some perspectives of polymer and biomass thermal conversion during co-pyrolysis process were discussed. 04/00294 Comparative study of iigno-cellulosic material from wheat straw and of pure and mixed standard compounds via solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy, conventional pyrolysis and TMAH thermochemolysis Gauthier, A. et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2003, 67, (2) 277-293. The ligno-cellulosic material (LCS) isolated from wheat straw, via successive acid and base treatments, exhibits high complexing capacities, mostly related to the lignin fraction, and may have important applications for metal completion. In the present study LCS was examined via a combination of spectroscopic and pyrolytic methods: solid slate cross polarization/magic angle spinning 3C nuclear magnetic resonance (CPIMAS “C NMR), conventional Curie point pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (CuPy-GCMS) and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis-GC-MS). Parallel experiments were also performed on cellulose and tignin standards and 50:50 cellulose:lignin mixture. These studies afforded information on 1ignin:cellulose relative abundances in LCS (ca. 1.5:85) and on the composition of the lignin fraction, including the presence of substantial amounts of carboxylic groups which should be important for metal complexation. Examination of standards and mixture also illustrated (i) the usefulness of TMAH thermochemolysis for the detection of cellulose and of carboxylic groups compared with conventional pyrolysis and (ii) the conspicuous limitations of some of the above methods when applied to ligno-cellulosic materials and resulting biases. 04/00295 Device for fermentation of biological solid wastes for biogas manufacturing Ger. Gebrauchsmusterschrift DE 20,121,701 (Cl. C12M1/113), 17 Apr 2003, DE Appl. 10,157,347. (In German) The invention concerns a device for the degradation of organic substance, whereby a reactor basin is placed between a supply opening for supplying the organic substances and a distanced withdrawal opening for at least partly degraded organic substances. The reactor basing is used for intake of a liquid, so that the organic substances are floatable transported from the supply to the withdrawal opening, whereby a further reactor connected by a line is provided with a device for stripping of fermentation. Gas for the anaerobic fermenting of the treatment liquid. The organic substances are transported through reactor within the treatment liquid for hydrolysis, whereby the transport is carried out with a screw, which is located nearly the inlet opening. The manufactured biogas is fed into a block-type thermal power station. 04100296 Drying characteristics of wood cylinders for conditions pertinent to fixed-bed countercurrent gasification Di Blasi, C. D. et al. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2003, 25, (l), 45-58. The convective drying of pine wood cylinders (40 mm diameter) in hot air has been investigated experimentally for conditions reproducing those encountered in the drying section of fixed-bed updraft gasifiers (nominal velocities of 0.4-1.2 m/s and maximum air temperatures of 435-600 K). Temperature profiles show a drying zone slowly propagating from the heat exposed surfaces towards the inside, whereas the global drying rate presents two maxima, corresponding to moisture evaporation along a thin superficial layer and sample heatup, respectively. The drying times reproduce trends already known on dependence of the external heating conditions and the initial moisture content. From the quantitative point of view, a moisture content of 50% is observed to delay the particle heating times up to factors of 3-5. Acceptable quantitative agreement is obtained between these measurements and the predictions of a simplified model of moisture evaporation in wood, which can be used to treat single particle effects in the more complicated mathematical descriptions of gasifier behaviour. 04100297 Drying of granulated wood saw dust and natural gas combustion Holmberg, S. L. et al. Resources, Conservation (4), 301-316.
ash
by flue
and Recycling,
gas
from 2003, 38,
Alternative
energy
sources
(bioconversion
energy)
At the district heating plant of Kalmar, Sweden an on-line unit for production of granulated wood ash for nutrient recycling on forest soils is being applied. Currently, the granules are dried by hot air from an oil-fired burner. The objective of this work was to investigate how drying by flue gas affects the hardening of granules, or impacts their chemical composition and properties. Ninety-six granule samples were treated by flue gas from natural gas combustion in a laboratory pilot scale flue gas generator. COa, CO, 02, CsHs and NO concentrations were varied during the experiment. Additionally, some samples were treated by flue gas from combustion of sawdust at the heating plant in Kalmar. Drying by flue gases did not affect the chemical composition of granules, but minor effects were seen in their mineralogy. The carbonate content was slightly higher in granules treated with flue gas from natural gas combustion compared to the granules dried by hot air only, when measured by wet chemical methods. Results from XRD analysis imply that the calcite content is higher and the portlandite and arcanite content slightly less in granules treated with flue gas from sawdust combustion compared to the granules dried by hot air only. The results from this investigation showed no negative effects on ash granule composition or physical structure by the use of a flue as a drying medium. 04/00296 Emissions from a conical FBC fired with a biomass fuel Kouprianov, V. I. and Permchart, W. Applied Energy, 2003, 74, (3-4), 383-392. The results of experimental tests conducted on a conical fluidized bed combustor (FBC), firing mixed sawdust of some Thai woods, are discussed. The concentration profiles for major gaseous emissions (CO, NO, and COz), as well as the temperature and O2 profiles along the combustor height, were obtained for various operating conditions (fuel feed rate and excess air) for three ‘fixed’ bed heights (20, 30 and 40 cm). The influence of fuel quality (through varying the fuel’s moisture content) on the formation of gaseous emissions was also studied. Both CO and NO, axial profiles were found to have an extreme (maximum) in the active combustion zone. The effects of FBC load and excess air, as well as fuel moisture, on the CO,,, were found to be very strong. The NO,,,,, was less affected by the combustion conditions, approaching 1.5-3 times the NO, values at the combustor outlet. The influence of the sand’s bed height on the rate of gaseous emissions was found to be minor. The dependencies of the CO and NO, emissions (i.e. concentrations in the waste flue gas) on the FBC operating conditions are shown for different values of fuel’s moisture content. 04100299 Fundamental study on the production of woody biomass fuel using hydrothermal treatment Hirajima, T. et al. Shigen to Sozai, 2003, 119, (3): 118124. Woody biomass (Acacia mangium) which contains 43% (dry basis) oxygen was converted by treatment in liquid water at 270-350”, at 8.318.4 MPa, and holding time 10 min using an autoclave of 10 L capacity. At these reaction conditions a significant proportion of the oxygen was removed and the oxygen content of the solid product became 14-24%. Removal of oxygen increased the carbon content and the heating value, leading to a product with more sub-bituminous and bituminous coallike properties. This solid product having heating values of 6900-7160 kcal/kg (dry basis) is an excellent fuel because of its higher volatile matter content, low sulfur, and low ash. After cooling down the reaction mixture to ambient temperatures, the liquid product containing the organic components was dissolved in process water. It is mainly composed of MeOH, acetic acid, components derived from cellulose and hemi-cellulose (e.g. 5-hydroymethyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde and furfural), and lignin components (e.g. 2,6-dimethoxy-phenol and guaiacol). The mechanism of the conversion process is discussed through Fourier transform IR Spectroscopy, gas chromatograph mass spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis results. 04/00300 Gasification apparatus for biomass such as lumber to produce fuel gas Fujikawa, A. et al. Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 2003 113,380 (Cl. ClOJ3/00), 18 Apr 2003, Appl. 2001/306,865. (In Japanese) The apparatus includes a gasification furnace using biomass (e.g. wood material) to generate hot gas, a thermal decomposition furnace for thermal decomposition of the hot gas, and a device for solid-gas separation to obtain combustible gas and solid components for recovery. 04/00301 Interpolation of pressure time series in an aerodynamic database for low buildings Chen, Y. et al. Journal of Wind Engineering and Irtdustrial Aerodynamics, 2003, 91, (6), 7377765. Database-assisted design (DAD) is a relatively new concept whereby archived pressure time series from wind tunnel experiments are used directly in structural analysis software for the design of a structure. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently creating an aerodynamic database of wind-induced pressure time series Fuel
and
Energy
Abstracts
January
2004
35