Integration of Air Classification and Hydrothermal Carbonization to Enhance Energy Recovery of Corn Stover

Md Tahmid Islam, Nepu Saha, Sergio Hernandez, Jordan Klinger and M. Toufiq Reza
Additional contact information
Md Tahmid Islam: Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
Nepu Saha: Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
Sergio Hernandez: Biomass Characterization Department, Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Ave, Idaho Falls, Idaho, ID 83402, USA
Jordan Klinger: Biomass Characterization Department, Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Ave, Idaho Falls, Idaho, ID 83402, USA
M. Toufiq Reza: Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Air classification (AC) is a cost-effective technology that separates the energy-dense light ash fraction (LAF) from the inorganic-rich high ash fraction (HAF) of corn stover. HAF could be upgraded into energy-dense solid fuel by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). However, HTC is a high-temperature, high-pressure process, which requires additional energy to operate. In this study, three different scenarios (i.e., AC only, HTC only, and integrated AC–HTC) were investigated for the energy recovery of corn stover. AC was performed on corn stover at an 8 Hz fan speed, which yielded 84.4 wt. % LAF, 12.8 wt. % HAF, and 2.8 wt. % below screen particles. About 27 wt. % ash was reduced from LAF by the AC process. Furthermore, HTC was performed on raw corn stover and the HAF of corn stover at 200, 230, and 260 °C for 30 min. To evaluate energy recovery, solid products were characterized in terms of mass yield, ash yield, ultimate analysis, proximate analyses, and higher heating value (HHV). The results showed that the energy density was increased with the increase in HTC temperature, meanwhile the mass yield and ash yield were decreased with the increase in HTC temperature. Proximate analysis showed that fixed carbon increased 18 wt. % for original char and 27 wt. % for HAF char at 260 °C, compared to their respective feedstocks. Finally, the hydrochar resulting from HAF was mixed with LAF and pelletized at 180 bar and 90 °C to densify the energy content. An energy balance of the integrated AC–HTC process was performed, and the results shows that integrated AC with HTC performed at 230 °C resulted in an additional 800 MJ/ton of energy recovery compared to the AC-only scenario.

Keywords: corn stover; air classification; hydrothermal carbonization; pelletization; energy recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1397/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1397/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:5:p:1397-:d:509971

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().