Elemental Composition and Flue Gas Emissions of Different Components from Five Semi-Arid Woody Species in Pyrolysed and Non-Pyrolysed Material

Maginot Ngangyo Heya, Rahim Foroughbakhch Pournavab, Artemio Carrillo Parra, Volker Zelinski and Lidia Rosaura Salas Cruz
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Maginot Ngangyo Heya: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas (FCB), Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Av. Universidad s/n Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza 66451, Nuevo León, Mexico
Rahim Foroughbakhch Pournavab: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas (FCB), Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Av. Universidad s/n Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza 66451, Nuevo León, Mexico
Artemio Carrillo Parra: Instituto de Silvicultura e Industria de la Madera (ISIMA), Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango (UJED), Boulevard del Guadiana #501, Ciudad Universitaria, Torre de Investigación, Durango 34120, Mexico
Volker Zelinski: Faculty of Resource Management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK), Büsgenweg 1A, D-37077 Gottingen, Germany
Lidia Rosaura Salas Cruz: Facultad de Agronomía (FA), Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Francisco Villa s/n, Col. Ex-Hacienda “El Canadá”, Escobedo 66050, Nuevo León, Mexico

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Biofuels are sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. However, they must comply with energy efficiency requirements and contribute to environmental protection. This study was focused on elemental composition (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and chlorine) of different plants’ components (stems, branches, twigs and leaves) from pyrolysed (charcoal) and non-pyrolysed samples of five semi-arid trees: Acacia berlandieri , A. wrightii , Ebenopsis ebano , Havardia pallens and Helietta parvifolia . Carbon fluctuated from 80.77% to 89.30% in charcoal and 44.99% to 49.70% in non-pyrolysed biomass, and hydrogen ranged from 2.38% to 2.69% in charcoal and 5.89% to 6.62% in non-pyrolysed biomass. Nitrogen accounted for 0.39%–0.65% (branches) and 0.32%–0.64% (stems) in charcoal, and the ranges for non-pyrolyzed material were 2.33–4.00% (leaves), 1.06%–1.76% (twigs), 0.21%–0.52% (branches) and 0.15%–0.28% (stems). Considerably higher concentrations of sulphur compared to chlorine were found, with increasing values for both elements from the base of trees to the leaves. Non-pyrolysed samples were characterized by 68.05 mg/kg–769.16 mg/kg (stems), 118.02 mg/kg–791.68 mg/kg (branches), 225.11 mg/kg–1742.25 mg/kg (twigs) and 374.73 mg/kg–6811.52 mg/kg (leaves) for sulphur, and 117.86 mg/kg–528.08 mg/kg (stems), 109.18 mg/kg–464.15 mg/kg (branches), 905.47 mg/kg–4205.19 mg/kg (twigs) and 2799.68 mg/kg–5072.76 mg/kg (leaves) for chlorine. In charcoal, the concentration ranges for sulphur were 47.54 mg/kg–376.95 mg/kg (branches) and 42.73–292.20 mg/kg (stems) and 139.34 mg/kg–419.68 mg/kg (branches) and 177.39 mg/kg–479.16 (stems) for chlorine. The study has shown that pyrolysis increased the amount of carbon and decreased the amount of hydrogen. Coincidentally, the amount of nitrogen, chlorine and sulphur could be decreased significantly by pyrolysis which means an improvement of the fuel considering the flue gas emissions. Besides the influence of the type of combustion plant and the influence of the source of biofuel, the treatment has a significant influence on the amount and composition of flue gases emitted in the combustion.

Keywords: biofuels quality; pyrolysis; sulphur and chlorine; elemental analysis; semi-arid woody species (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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