Fast Pyrolysis of Municipal Green Waste in an Auger Reactor: Effects of Residence Time and Particle Size on the Yield and Characteristics of Produced Oil

M. M. Hasan (), M. G. Rasul, M. I. Jahirul and M. M. K. Khan
Additional contact information
M. M. Hasan: Fuel and Energy Research Group, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, Australia
M. G. Rasul: Fuel and Energy Research Group, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, Australia
M. I. Jahirul: Fuel and Energy Research Group, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, Australia
M. M. K. Khan: Fuel and Energy Research Group, School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, Australia

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: The development of renewable sources for energy production has assumed a vital role in recent years, particularly with regard to the preservation of energy supplies and the environment. In this regard, municipal green waste (MGW) can be a potential renewable energy source if it is integrated with emerging technology, like pyrolysis. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of residence time and particle size on the yield and composition of oil derived from MGW using fast pyrolysis in an auger reactor. The residence time and particle size were varied from 1 min to 4 min and 1 mm to 10 mm, respectively, while keeping the temperature constant at 500 °C. At a residence time of 3 min, a 2 mm particle size provided the highest bio-oil yield (39.86%). At this experimental setting, biochar yield of 27.16% and syngas yield of 32.98% were obtained. The characterization of produced bio-oil revealed that a total of nine functional groups were present in the bio-oil. The phenols were highest in amount, followed by aromatics and ketones. The increase in residence time decreased the amount of acidic compounds present in the bio-oil. The water content was decreased by ~11% and the calorific value was increased by ~6% with the increase in particle size from 1 mm to 10 mm. Other properties, such as viscosity, density, cetane number, and flash point, did not change significantly with the change in experimental conditions. With a calorific value of 25+ MJ/kg, although the bio-oil produced from MGW can be used for heating (such as in boilers and furnaces), the use of MGW bio-oil in engines requires appropriate upgrading through procedures like hydrodeoxygenation, catalytic cracking, esterification, etc.

Keywords: municipal green waste; environmental degradation; waste to energy; fast pyrolysis; bio-oil; physicochemical properties (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: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/12/2914/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/12/2914/ (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:17:y:2024:i:12:p:2914-:d:1414202

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 ().