Techno-economic assessment of the effect of torrefaction on fast pyrolysis of pine
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2016
Department
Department of Chemical Engineering; Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Abstract
Techno-economic assessment of bio-oil production from fast pyrolysis of pine was explored through process simulation. In this work, bio-oil production via a one-step pyrolysis route and a two-step pyrolysis which included a torrefaction step before fast pyrolysis were modeled to process 1000 MT/day of dry feed (dry basis) through the pyrolyzer at a temperature of 530 °C while two-step -pyrolysis was investigated at three different torrefaction temperatures of 290, 310, and 330 °C. Different scenarios that included the use of fossil energy to produce process heat as well as use of renewable energy either through the combustion of char or a portion of the condensates from -torrefaction were also investigated. Economic analysis indicates that a torrefaction step results in a reduction in the minimum selling price of bio-oil produced which reduced further with -torrefaction -temperature with lowest bio-oil price of $1.04/gal obtained for a two-step pyrolysis at torrefaction -temperature of 330 °C in comparison to $1.32/gal for a one-step process. Minimum selling price of bio-oil on an energy basis however suggests a higher price of about $22.19/GJ for a two-step in -comparison to $16.89/GJ for a one-step. There could be a trade-offs between the higher quality and the higher selling price considering the downstream upgrade step to hydrocarbon fuel.
Publication Title
Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
Recommended Citation
Winjobi, O.,
Shonnard, D.,
Bar Ziv, E.,
&
Zhou, W.
(2016).
Techno-economic assessment of the effect of torrefaction on fast pyrolysis of pine.
Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining,
10(2), 117-128.
http://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1624
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/3542
