IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v7y2013i1p13-27d31567.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Product Yields and Characteristics of Corncob Waste under Various Torrefaction Atmospheres

Author

Listed:
  • Jau-Jang Lu

    (Graduate Institute of Applied Living Science, Tainan University of Technology, Tainan 710, Taiwan)

  • Wei-Hsin Chen

    (Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan)

Abstract

Biomass is a promising energy source due to its abundant, carbon-fixing, and carbon-neutral properties. Torrefaction can be employed to improve the properties of biomass in an oxygen-free or nitrogen atmosphere. This study investigates the product yields and the solid product characteristics from corncob waste torrefaction at the temperatures of 250 °C and 300 °C for 1 h. Nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and a gas mixture of air and carbon dioxide are employed as the carrier gases. The solid product characteristics approach those of coal at the higher temperature, regardless of what the carrier gases are. The fixed carbon, higher heating value, and solid and energy yields using carbon dioxide as a carrier gas at 300 °C are close to those using nitrogen. The product safety and storage properties before and after torrefaction are revealed by the measurements of ignition temperature and hygroscopicity. A higher torrefaction temperature leads to a higher ignition temperature of treated biomass, except using the mixture of air and carbon dioxide as the carrier gas. Carbon dioxide is a better carrier gas than nitrogen for biomass torrefaction, from the storage and transportation points of view.

Suggested Citation

  • Jau-Jang Lu & Wei-Hsin Chen, 2013. "Product Yields and Characteristics of Corncob Waste under Various Torrefaction Atmospheres," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-15, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:13-27:d:31567
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/7/1/13/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/7/1/13/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Wu, Jheng-Syun, 2009. "An evaluation on rice husks and pulverized coal blends using a drop tube furnace and a thermogravimetric analyzer for application to a blast furnace," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1458-1466.
    2. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Kuo, Po-Chih, 2011. "Torrefaction and co-torrefaction characterization of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin as well as torrefaction of some basic constituents in biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 803-811.
    3. Chew, J.J. & Doshi, V., 2011. "Recent advances in biomass pretreatment – Torrefaction fundamentals and technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 4212-4222.
    4. Wu, Keng-Tung & Tsai, Chia-Ju & Chen, Chih-Shen & Chen, Hsiao-Wei, 2012. "The characteristics of torrefied microalgae," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 52-57.
    5. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Cheng, Wen-Yi & Lu, Ke-Miao & Huang, Ying-Pin, 2011. "An evaluation on improvement of pulverized biomass property for solid fuel through torrefaction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 3636-3644.
    6. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Hsu, Huan-Chun & Lu, Ke-Miao & Lee, Wen-Jhy & Lin, Ta-Chang, 2011. "Thermal pretreatment of wood (Lauan) block by torrefaction and its influence on the properties of the biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 3012-3021.
    7. Fiaschi, Daniele & Carta, Riccardo, 2007. "CO2 abatement by co-firing of natural gas and biomass-derived gas in a gas turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 549-567.
    8. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Lu, Ke-Miao & Tsai, Chi-Ming, 2012. "An experimental analysis on property and structure variations of agricultural wastes undergoing torrefaction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 318-325.
    9. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Lu, Ke-Miao & Lee, Wen-Jhy & Liu, Shih-Hsien & Lin, Ta-Chang, 2014. "Non-oxidative and oxidative torrefaction characterization and SEM observations of fibrous and ligneous biomass," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 104-113.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adrian Knapczyk & Sławomir Francik & Marcin Jewiarz & Agnieszka Zawiślak & Renata Francik, 2020. "Thermal Treatment of Biomass: A Bibliometric Analysis—The Torrefaction Case," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-31, December.
    2. Bach, Quang-Vu & Skreiberg, Øyvind, 2016. "Upgrading biomass fuels via wet torrefaction: A review and comparison with dry torrefaction," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 665-677.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Peng, Jianghong & Bi, Xiaotao T., 2015. "A state-of-the-art review of biomass torrefaction, densification and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 847-866.
    2. Lu, Ke-Miao & Lee, Wen-Jhy & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Lin, Ta-Chang, 2013. "Thermogravimetric analysis and kinetics of co-pyrolysis of raw/torrefied wood and coal blends," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 57-65.
    3. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Chen, Chih-Jung & Hung, Chen-I & Shen, Cheng-Hsien & Hsu, Heng-Wen, 2013. "A comparison of gasification phenomena among raw biomass, torrefied biomass and coal in an entrained-flow reactor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 421-430.
    4. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Liu, Shih-Hsien & Juang, Tarng-Tzuen & Tsai, Chi-Ming & Zhuang, Yi-Qing, 2015. "Characterization of solid and liquid products from bamboo torrefaction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 829-835.
    5. Wilk, Małgorzata & Magdziarz, Aneta & Kalemba, Izabela, 2015. "Characterisation of renewable fuels' torrefaction process with different instrumental techniques," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 259-269.
    6. Wilk, Małgorzata & Magdziarz, Aneta & Kalemba, Izabela & Gara, Paweł, 2016. "Carbonisation of wood residue into charcoal during low temperature process," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 507-513.
    7. Li, Shu-Xian & Zou, Jin-Ying & Li, Ming-Fei & Wu, Xiao-Fei & Bian, Jing & Xue, Zhi-Min, 2017. "Structural and thermal properties of Populus tomentosa during carbon dioxide torrefaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 321-329.
    8. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Lu, Ke-Miao & Lee, Wen-Jhy & Liu, Shih-Hsien & Lin, Ta-Chang, 2014. "Non-oxidative and oxidative torrefaction characterization and SEM observations of fibrous and ligneous biomass," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 104-113.
    9. Batidzirai, B. & Mignot, A.P.R. & Schakel, W.B. & Junginger, H.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2013. "Biomass torrefaction technology: Techno-economic status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-214.
    10. Barskov, Stan & Zappi, Mark & Buchireddy, Prashanth & Dufreche, Stephen & Guillory, John & Gang, Daniel & Hernandez, Rafael & Bajpai, Rakesh & Baudier, Jeff & Cooper, Robbyn & Sharp, Richard, 2019. "Torrefaction of biomass: A review of production methods for biocoal from cultured and waste lignocellulosic feedstocks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 624-642.
    11. Wen, Jia-Long & Sun, Shao-Long & Yuan, Tong-Qi & Xu, Feng & Sun, Run-Cang, 2014. "Understanding the chemical and structural transformations of lignin macromolecule during torrefaction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 1-9.
    12. Gan, Yong Yang & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Ling, Tau Chuan & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Chong, Cheng Tung, 2019. "Torrefaction of de-oiled Jatropha seed kernel biomass for solid fuel production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 367-374.
    13. Arriola, Emmanuel & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Chih, Yi-Kai & De Luna, Mark Daniel & Show, Pau Loke, 2020. "Impact of post-torrefaction process on biochar formation from wood pellets and self-heating phenomena for production safety," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    14. Tran, Khanh-Quang & Luo, Xun & Seisenbaeva, Gulaim & Jirjis, Raida, 2013. "Stump torrefaction for bioenergy application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 539-546.
    15. Wu, Keng-Tung & Tsai, Chia-Ju & Chen, Chih-Shen & Chen, Hsiao-Wei, 2012. "The characteristics of torrefied microalgae," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 52-57.
    16. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Kuo, Po-Chih, 2011. "Isothermal torrefaction kinetics of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin and xylan using thermogravimetric analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 6451-6460.
    17. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Hsu, Huan-Chun & Lu, Ke-Miao & Lee, Wen-Jhy & Lin, Ta-Chang, 2011. "Thermal pretreatment of wood (Lauan) block by torrefaction and its influence on the properties of the biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 3012-3021.
    18. Singh, Rishikesh Kumar & Chakraborty, Jyoti Prasad & Sarkar, Arnab, 2020. "Optimizing the torrefaction of pigeon pea stalk (cajanus cajan) using response surface methodology (RSM) and characterization of solid, liquid and gaseous products," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 677-690.
    19. Nocquet, Timothée & Dupont, Capucine & Commandre, Jean-Michel & Grateau, Maguelone & Thiery, Sébastien & Salvador, Sylvain, 2014. "Volatile species release during torrefaction of wood and its macromolecular constituents: Part 1 – Experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 180-187.
    20. Yi-Kai Chih & Wei-Hsin Chen & Hwai Chyuan Ong & Pau Loke Show, 2019. "Product Characteristics of Torrefied Wood Sawdust in Normal and Vacuum Environments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:13-27:d:31567. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.