Development of a Low-Cost Experimental Procedure for the Production of Laboratory Samples of Torrefied Biomass

Leonel J. R. Nunes, Jorge M. C. Ribeiro, Letícia C. R. Sá, Liliana M. E. F. Loureiro, Radu Godina and João C. O. Matias
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Leonel J. R. Nunes: proMetheus—Unidade de Investigação em Materiais, Energia e Ambiente para a Sustentabilidade, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Alvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Jorge M. C. Ribeiro: DEGEIT—Departamento de Economia, Gestão, Engenharia Industrial e Turismo, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Letícia C. R. Sá: YGE—Yser Green Energy SA, Área de Acolhimento Empresarial de Úl/Loureiro, Lote 17, 3720-075 Loureiro OAZ, Portugal
Liliana M. E. F. Loureiro: YGE—Yser Green Energy SA, Área de Acolhimento Empresarial de Úl/Loureiro, Lote 17, 3720-075 Loureiro OAZ, Portugal
Radu Godina: UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829–516 Caparica, Portugal
João C. O. Matias: GOVCOPP—Unidade de Investigação em Governança, Competitividade e Políticas Públicas, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

Clean Technol., 2020, vol. 2, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Currently, the search for alternative sources of energy is not only due to the scarcity of non-renewable sources, since these still have an availability capable of meeting actual consumption needs, but also due to the negative environmental impacts that its consumption presents. Thus, the use of biomass as a renewable and sustainable energy source is increasingly presented as an alternative that must be taken into account. Torrefaction is a conversion process that aims to improve the properties of biomass through its thermal decomposition at temperatures between 220 and 320 °C. Torrefaction can be defined by several variables, which have an impact on the final quality of the torrefied biomass. Therefore, there is an increase in the number of studies involving this topic, in order to improve the production of biomass and its use as a renewable energy source, in addition to reducing the costs of this process. In this work, a protocol was developed for a laboratory test procedure to produce low-cost torrefied biomass samples using equipment that can present a cost reduction of around 90%. The samples were analyzed to prove the viability of the developed protocol. The results obtained agree with the current literature, also confirming the improvement of the biomass properties. This work can serve as a platform for the development of other technologies, such as gasification for the production of hydrogen from torrefied biomass.

Keywords: biomass torrefaction; biomass characterization; renewable energy; laboratorial procedure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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