" PROCESS SIMULATION OF BIOMASS TORREFACTION PLANT"
Project Report:
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("https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nakul-Kalgaonkar")
PRE- ("https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355022425_PRE_BATCH-3OIP_Online_Internship_Programme_OIP-2021_Internship_Report_Petroleum_Refinery_Engineering_PRE_BATCH-3OIP")
In the time of growing
energy demand with simultaneous care for the environment and sustainable
development, renewable energy sources are still gaining on importance.
Torrefaction is an important thermal pretreatment method to produce solid
biofuels from biomass to replace coal for sustainable heat and power
generation. It is worth mentioning that torrefaction can be successfully
applied to any type of biomass: from waste lignin derivatives to sewage sludge.
Moreover, besides the thermal conversion of biomass also logistic properties can
be improved through torrefaction when torrefaction is combined with
densification ( briquetting).
In this project, till
now, we have covered the basics of torrefaction and its associated processes.
We had looked into the various types of biomass feedstocks, their
characterstics and discussed the general layout of a typical integrated biomass
torrefaction and pelletization plant (iBTP). The key unit operations of an iBTP
plant consisted of a biomass drying, fuel combustion, torrefaction, grinding,
pelletizing, and cooling operations. The total thermal energy consumption for
the production of torrefied pellets were ranged from 5.2 to 14.1 MJ kg−1 with
the torgas energy contributions of 30–90% for the torrefaction temperature
range of 250–290 °C.
A comprehensive process simulation model was developed to con- duct the mass and energy balances of an integrated biomass torrefaction and pelletization (iBTP) plant using an Aspen Plus software tool. A solid convective dryer and the pre-defined RPlug reactor were used to si- mulate the key unit operations of the system. The validated simulation model was used to estimate the overall mass and energy balances, ef- ficiency, and emissions of the iBTP plant to produce torrefied pellets from pinewood at different torrefaction temperatures. The iBTP plant leaned towards auto-thermal condition at higher torrefaction tem- peratures (above 300 °C), where the auXiliary energy requirement was limited. The biomass mass and total energy (thermal and electrical energy) flows for producing 100,000 Mg yr−1 of torrefied pellets at 270 °C were 34.5 Mg h−1 (2.6 Mg Mg−1 of product) and 8.2–9 MJ kg−1of product, respectively. The use of natural gas as an auXiliary fuel required the least processing steps compared to that of biomass bark fuel, while biomass bark fuel reduced the NOX and CO2 emissions. Our future work will focus on investigating the direct-con- duct torrefaction reactor system that integrated with catalytic de- struction of VOCs and oXygen from torgas to improve the overall thermal efficiency of the iBTP plant. In addition, developing a process simulation of simultaneous drying and torrefaction reactions using a single reactor system and its technical and economic impacts would be of significant interest to bioenergy industries. The developed process simulation model can be used for conducting process safety, plant economics and life cycle assessment of the iBTP plant.
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