Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-105). / xvi, 105 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / "Sponsored by: CLP Research Institute." "HKUST project no.: CLPRI02/03.EG01." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-83). Also available in electronic version.

South Africa is economically vulnerable to climate change because its economy is powered by electricity generated from coal fired power stations. There is a need to reduce the reliance on fossil fuel energy not only because of greenhouse gas emissions but also energy security. Bamboo is touted as a renewable energy source, however, like other woody biomass material, it has poor physicochemical properties and low energy densities. Therefore, the bamboo samples utilized in this study were subjected to thermal pre-treatment methods to improve on their combustion and physicochemical properties. Bamboo samples of 1, 3 and 4+ years old were subjected to torrefaction at 250°C and 280°C as well as low temperature carbonisation at 350°C and 400°C. A standard HGI method was modified during the course of this research for studying the grindability of the raw and treated bamboo material. The fuel properties and combustibility of these raw and thermally treated bamboo materials were then studied using thermogravimetric analysis. The raw bamboo samples exhibited a CV ranging from 17 MJ/kg to 18 MJ/kg, whereas the torrefied samples and the carbonised samples had a CV ranging from 25 MJ/kg to 28 MJ/kg and 28 MJ/kg to 30 MJ/kg, respectively. The 4 year old bamboo carbonised at 400°C had the highest CV of 30.24 MJ/kg. The CV improvement occurred as a result of molecular modification observed through an increase in fixed carbon content from 16 to 74%. The energy yields ranging from 48 to 74% were achieved for the torrefied samples and 44 to 54% for the low temperature carbonised samples, depending on the age of the bamboo sample. At torrefaction temperatures tested, the 4 year old bamboo had the highest mass and energy yield, whereas at carbonisation temperatures, 3 year old bamboo had the highest. The number of differential thermogravimetric peaks was observed to decrease from 2 to 1 as the thermal treatment temperature increased to a carbonisation range (350-400) °C. This can be attributed to the less VM content in the carbonised samples. The raw bamboo and thermally treated bamboo had higher reactivity, lower ignition and burnout temperatures compared to that for coal. Blending of coal with bamboo (raw and thermally treated) appeared to increase the reactivity and lower the ignition temperature during co-firing. The activation energies of the individual fuels ranged from 56 to 289 kJ/mol, using the Ozawa model. Bamboo samples carbonised at 400°C had the highest activation energy, irrespective of age. The activation energy was also the highest when co-firing a blend with the highest proportion of coal. Based on the co-firing tests undertaken in the TG analyser in which a percentage of coal is blended with various proportions of raw and thermally treated bamboo, the results showed that as the percentage of coal in the blend increases there is less interaction or influence of biomass. The role of biomass is to aid with ignition of devolatilization in the coal at lower temperatures. At the carbonisation stage, biomass behave more like coal in principle. It was confirmed in this study that in terms of combustibility, the torrefied bamboo samples had a greater capacity to provide lower ignition and burnout temperatures over the low carbonised bamboo samples utilized, and this might support its application as a source of fuel in an industrial burning combustor. The carbonised 4 year old bamboo appears to be the preferred alternative source fuel to be fired solely in an existing pulverised boiler in South Africa or co-fired with coal due to the carbonised bamboo samples exhibiting the higher CV and more coal-like combustion profile.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2003Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:46:44Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rabelo_erc_dr_guara.pdf: 6183140 bytes, checksum: d7bd9eecbf970b1f0de95902bb7fa5b8 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Este trabalho trata da combustão sem chama, denominada incandescência, em espécimes de madeira. O estágio de incandescência é muito comum em queimadas florestais, ocorrendo após o período de chamas, quando a biomassa de tamanho maior permanece fumegando por até vários dias. Este material, em estado de incandescência, é foco permanente de emissão de gases tóxicos bem como de re-ignição de biomassa não queimada. Os objetivos principais do trabalho são: verificar experimentalmente os parâmetros que favorecem o início e a continuidade do processo de incandescência e quantificar as concentrações de CO, CO2, O2 e HC durante a queima. Também serão determinadas temperaturas, em diferentes pontos dos corpos de prova, a velocidade da frente de incandescência e, finalmente, a taxa de queima. Os ensaios foram feitos em um forno de 1,80 m de comprimento por 0,60 m de diâmetro, conectado a um controlador de temperatura, com vazões de ar de combustão previamente estabelecidas. Além da vazão de ar, outros parâmetros também variaram, como a temperatura interna do forno, a espécie da madeira, o volume e a umidade da amostra. Para otimizar a execução dos testes foi aplicada a técnica de Projeto de Experimentos. Os ensaios de laboratório foram comparados com os resultados obtidos em uma queimada realizada no interior da floresta Amazônica, no norte do estado de Mato Grosso. / This work investigates non flaming combustion in biomass logs. The process is called smouldering combustion. The occurrence of smouldering is very common in forest fires, where the large sized biomass remains fuming for several days. The material in the state of is a source of toxic gases and of ignition for unburned biomass. The main goals of the work are experimentally check the parameters that favor initiation and permanence of the smouldering process and measure CO, CO2, O2 and HC concentrations during the burning. The velocity of the smouldering front was determined by thermocouples placed in different points of the biomass sample. The average burning rate was also determined. The tests were performed in a furnace of 1.80 m length by 0.60 m diameter. A temperature controller was used to set the desired furnace temperature. The mass flow rate of air was controlled by valves and measured with rotameters. Tests were conducted for different biomass species and sample volumes and moisture contents. To optimize the number of tests the technique Project of Experiments was applied. Results of the laboratory tests agreed well with those obtained in the Amazon forest, in the north of the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

In this work the combustion characteristics of coal, charcoal, microalgae biomass and blends between these three components were evaluated by means of non-isothermal thermogravimetry. Blends between coal, charcoal and microalgae biomass were made according to the specifications of a D-optimal mixture design so as to be able to model interactions between the three components with maximum precision despite multiple constraints built into the design. These constraints specified that coal can have a minimum value of 70 mass percent in any blend, while microalgae can have a maximum value of 20 mass percent. While coal and charcoal were blended by mixing the two respective dry components, microalgae biomass was incorporated into the blends by first absorbing microalgae onto fine coal from concentrated slurry of the microalgae in water. The microalgae in these blends were therefore intimately associated with the coal. This approach differed substantially from the normal practice of preparing coal – biomass blends (which are usually dry-mixed as for coal – charcoal blends). Proximate analyses of the starting materials showed that the microalgae biomass has a significantly higher volatile matter: fixed carbon content than both coal and charcoal, which should improve the combustion of these materials by providing a more stable combustion flame. Analyses of the thermogravimetric data obtained showed that coal and charcoal have much simpler combustion profiles than microalgae biomass for which five different thermal events could be observed in the DTG combustion profile. Qualitative kinetic analyses showed that the combustion of coal and charcoal follows first-order kinetics, but for microalgae biomass combustion, the first two combustion stages appear to follow first-order kinetics. The TG and DTG profiles for coal, charcoal, microalgae and blends of these three components were used to derive values for the so-called comprehensive combustion property index (S-value), which provides a combined measure of the ease of ignition, rate of combustion, and burn-out temperature. The S-values so obtained were used as response variable for the construction of a response surface model in the experimental domain investigated. Following statistical validation of the response surface model, the model was used to predict an optimum S-value or a blend that would display optimum combustion behaviour. Two optimum blends were obtained from the optimisation process, one in which only charcoal is added to coal, and one in which only microalgae is added to coal. Adding both charcoal and microalgae produced an antagonistic effect compared to when only one of these are used. Qualitative kinetic analyses of the combustion data of blends indicate that blends of coal and charcoal combust in a manner similar to the individual components (hence following first-order kinetics), but blends of coal and microalgae follow more complex kinetics despite the fact that the combustion profile is visibly more simple compared to the combustion profile for microalgae alone.

Hemp, eucalyptus, coal, hemp and coal blended fuel, and eucalyptus and coal blended fuel were ashed and then heat treated for 1 hour at temperatures from 600-1100°C. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated reactions between the phases present after initial ashing of the fuel showed biomass-biomass, biomass-coal and coal-coal interactions. Two phase systems were identified as dominant in the biomass and coal ash blends, these were CaO-MgO-SiO2 and CaO-Al2O3-SiO2. The phases identified in these systems have also been identified in ceramics produced at high temperatures which have similar compositions to the ash matrix of the laboratory synthesised ash; this indicates that phase diagrams can be powerful tools in phase formation prediction. Structures identified as trichomes (phosphate-silicate structures with melting points above 1100°C) from the hemp fuel which had not decomposed were present in both the hemp ash and the hemp and coal ash. The composition determined by Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of laboratory synthesised ashes was also in agreement with the phases identified through X-ray diffraction. Hemp and coal, eucalyptus and coal, and eucalyptus ash samples (deposited, quenched, cyclone, and bottom ash) removed from a full scale 1MWth combustion rig were analysed. Phase composition of the fly ash samples are similar to those identified in the analagous samples produced in the laboratory with several of the same phases present; confirming that laboratory testing is useful for the predictions of phases present on the industrial scale combustion rig. Particle morphology is one of the largest differences between the laboratory scale tests and combustion rig samples. The dominant particle shape of fly ash particles removed from the combustion rig is spherical. These particles of characteristic shape are often referred to as plerospheres and cenospheres and were first identified in coal fly ash. The presence of the spheres in the combustion rig when only biomass (eucalyptus) is present indicates the formation mechanism of the particles is similar to that of coal. There are similarities between the chemical composition of the spheres which are solely of biomass origin and co-fired; it is likely that phase composition of the sphere and not the fuel origin contributes to the formation of the spheres. Phases identified in the bottom ash are similar to those identified in the fly ash. High temperature phases such as (e.g. Ca9MgK(PO4)7) ocur in the bottom ash suggesting that higher temperatures are reached in the bottom of the rig than in the flue gas. Analysis of 15Mo3 alloy corrosion coupons with fly ash deposited onto the surface, alongside the interactions between gas phases and coupons, deposits and coupons, and gas phases and deposits, showed that some oxidation/reduction of the metal had occurred. The presence vi of metal oxide flakes indicated corrosion. Oxidation of 15Mo3 alloy was observed in hemp and coal, and eucalyptus and coal combustion trials, likely due to the observed deposition of potassium chloride which has caused detachment of several scales. Between the metal-deposit interface, hematite whiskers were observed; magnetite octahedra were also present on the surface of scales. The phases present in the coupon deposit ash differ from those observed in the laboratory and fly ash due to the length of time spent in the high temperature environment. This indicates that some phases will not form until the deposits have built up and are in the furnace for an extended period of time. When the coupon samples were coated, fewer metal scales were observed meaning that the coatings are an affective method of corrosion reduction leading to an increased lifetime of boiler components. The dominant particle morphology present in the combustion rig is the cenospheres and plerospheres. The phases formed can be broadly catergorised into CaO-MgO-SiO2, CaO-Al2O3-SiO2, and K2O-Al2O3-SiO2 phases. Potassium chloride is observed in the laboratory ash and combustion rig ash indicating, alongside the presence of metal oxide scales, that the fuel blends are likely to lead to corrosion during combustion.

Resumo: Este trabalho trata da combustão sem chama, denominada incandescência, em espécimes de madeira. O estágio de incandescência é muito comum em queimadas florestais, ocorrendo após o período de chamas, quando a biomassa de tamanho maior permanece fumegando por até vários dias. Este material, em estado de incandescência, é foco permanente de emissão de gases tóxicos bem como de re-ignição de biomassa não queimada. Os objetivos principais do trabalho são: verificar experimentalmente os parâmetros que favorecem o início e a continuidade do processo de incandescência e quantificar as concentrações de CO, CO2, O2 e HC durante a queima. Também serão determinadas temperaturas, em diferentes pontos dos corpos de prova, a velocidade da frente de incandescência e, finalmente, a taxa de queima. Os ensaios foram feitos em um forno de 1,80 m de comprimento por 0,60 m de diâmetro, conectado a um controlador de temperatura, com vazões de ar de combustão previamente estabelecidas. Além da vazão de ar, outros parâmetros também variaram, como a temperatura interna do forno, a espécie da madeira, o volume e a umidade da amostra. Para otimizar a execução dos testes foi aplicada a técnica de "Projeto de Experimentos". Os ensaios de laboratório foram comparados com os resultados obtidos em uma queimada realizada no interior da floresta Amazônica, no norte do estado de Mato Grosso. / Abstract: This work investigates non flaming combustion in biomass logs. The process is called smouldering combustion. The occurrence of smouldering is very common in forest fires, where the large sized biomass remains fuming for several days. The material in the state of is a source of toxic gases and of ignition for unburned biomass. The main goals of the work are experimentally check the parameters that favor initiation and permanence of the smouldering process and measure CO, CO2, O2 and HC concentrations during the burning. The velocity of the smouldering front was determined by thermocouples placed in different points of the biomass sample. The average burning rate was also determined. The tests were performed in a furnace of 1.80 m length by 0.60 m diameter. A temperature controller was used to set the desired furnace temperature. The mass flow rate of air was controlled by valves and measured with rotameters. Tests were conducted for different biomass species and sample volumes and moisture contents. To optimize the number of tests the technique "Project of Experiments" was applied. Results of the laboratory tests agreed well with those obtained in the Amazon forest, in the north of the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. / Orientador: João Andrade de Carvalho Junior / Coorientador: Carlos Alberto Gurgel Veras / Banca: Luiz Roberto Carrocci / Banca: Mauricio Araujo Zanardi / Doutor

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent times, governments around the world have placed increasing focus on cleaner technologies and sustainable methods of power generation in an attempt to move away from fossil fuel derived power, which is deemed unsustainable and unfriendly to the environment. This trend has also been supported by the South African government, with clear intentions to diversify the country’s power generation by including, among others, biomass as a renewable resource for electricity generation. Woody biomass and associated forestry residues in particular, could potentially be used as such a renewable resource when considering the large amount of fast growing hardwood species cultivated in South Africa. Approximately 6.3 million ton of Eucalyptus grandis is sold annually for pulp production while a further 7 million ton of Eucalyptus species are sold as round wood. With these tree species reaching commercial maturity within 7 – 9 years in the South African climate, there is real potential in harnessing woody biomass as a renewable energy source. In this study, pyrolysis was investigated as a method to condense and upgrade E.grandis into energy and chemical rich products. The pyrolysis of E.grandis is the study of the thermal degradation of the biomass, in the absence of oxygen, to produce char and bio-oil. The thermal degradation behaviour of E.grandis was studied using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany and subsequently used to determine the isoconversional kinetic constants for E.grandis and its main lignocellulosic components. Slow, Vacuum and Fast Pyrolysis were investigated and optimised to maximise product yields and to identify the key process variables affecting product quality. The Fast Pyrolysis of E.grandis was investigated and compared on bench (KIT0.1 kg/h), laboratory (SU1 kg/h) and pilot plant scale (KIT10 kg/h), using Fast Pyrolysis reactors at Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa and at KIT in Germany. The Slow and Vacuum Pyrolysis of E.grandis was investigated and compared using a packed bed reactor at Stellenbosch University. The TGA revealed that biomass particle size had a negligible effect on the thermal degradation behaviour of E.grandis at a heating rate set point of 50 °C/min. It was also shown that increasing the furnace heating rates shifted the thermo-gravimetric (TG) and differential thermo-gravimetric (DTG) curves towards higher temperatures while also increasing the maximum rate of volatilisation. Lignin resulted in the largest specific char yield and also reacted across the widest temperature range of all the samples investigated. The average activation energies found for the samples investigated were 177.8, 141.0, 106.2 and 170.4 kJ/mol for holocellulose, alpha-cellulose, Klason lignin and raw E.grandis, respectively. Bio-oil yield was optimised at 76 wt. % (daf) for the SU1 kg/h Fast Pyrolysis plant using an average biomass particle size of 570 μm and a reactor temperature of 470 °C. Differences in the respective condensation chains of the various Fast Pyrolysis reactor configurations investigated resulted in higher gas and char yields for the KIT reactor configurations compared to the SU1 kg/h Fast Pyrolysis plant. Differences in the vapour residence time between Slow (>400 s) and Vacuum Pyrolysis (< 2 s) resulted in a higher liquid and lower char yield for Vacuum Pyrolysis. Local liquid yield maxima of 41.1 and 64.4 wt. % daf were found for Slow and Vacuum Pyrolysis, respectively (achieved at a reactor temperature of 450 °C and a heating rate of 17 °C/min). Even though char yields were favoured at low reactor temperatures (269 – 300 °C), the higher heating values of the char were favoured at high reactor temperatures (29 – 34 MJ/kg for 375 – 481 °C). Reactor temperature had the most significant effects on product yield and quality for the respective Slow and Vacuum Pyrolysis experimental runs. The bio-oils yielded for SP and VP were found to be rich in furfural and acetic acid. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Regerings regoor die wêreld het in die afgelope tyd toenemende fokus geplaas op skoner tegnologie en volhoubare metodes van kragopwekking in 'n poging om weg te beweeg van fossielbrandstof gebasseerde energie, wat geag word as nie volhoubaar nie en skadelik vir die omgewing. Hierdie tendens is ook ondersteun deur die Suid-Afrikaanse regering, met 'n duidelike bedoeling om die land se kragopwekking te diversifiseer deur, onder andere, biomassa as 'n hernubare bron vir die opwekking van elektrisiteit te gebruik. Houtagtige biomassa en verwante bosbou afval in die besonder, kan potensieel gebruik word as so 'n hernubare hulpbron, veral aangesien ‘n groot aantal vinnig groeiende hardehout spesies tans in Suid-Afrika verbou word. Ongeveer 6,3 miljoen ton Eucalyptus grandis word jaarliks verkoop vir pulp produksie, terwyl 'n verdere 7 miljoen ton van Eucalyptus spesies verkoop word as paal hout. Met hierdie boom spesies wat kommersiële volwassenheid bereik binne 7 - 9 jaar in die Suid-Afrikaanse klimaat, is daar werklike potensiaal vir die benutting van houtagtige biomassa as 'n hernubare energiebron. In hierdie studie is pirolise ondersoek as 'n metode om E.grandis te kondenseer en op te gradeer na energie en chemikalie ryke produkte. Die pirolise van E.grandis is die proses van termiese afbreking van die biomassa, in die afwesigheid van suurstof, om houtskool en bio-olie te produseer. Die termiese afbrekingsgedrag van E.grandis is bestudeer deur gebruik te maak van termo-gravimetriese analise (TGA) by die Karlsruhe Instituut van Tegnologie in Duitsland en daarna gebruik om die kinetiese konstantes vir die iso-omskakeling van E.grandis en sy hoof komponente te bepaal. Stadige, Vakuum en Snel pirolise is ondersoek en geoptimiseer om produk opbrengste te maksimeer en die sleutel proses veranderlikes wat die kwaliteit van die produk beïnvloed te identifiseer. Die Snel Pirolise van E.grandis is ondersoek en vergelyk op bank- (KIT0.1 kg / h), laboratorium- (SU1 kg / h) en proefaanlegskaal (KIT10 kg / h) deur gebruik te maak van Snel pirolise reaktore by die Universiteit van Stellenbosch (US) in Suid-Afrika en die Karlsruhe Instituut van Tegnologie (KIT) in Duitsland. Die Stadige en Vakuum Pirolise van E.grandis is ondersoek en vergelyk met behulp van 'n gepakte bed reaktor aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Die TGA studie het openbaar dat biomassa deeltjiegrootte 'n onbeduidende uitwerking op die termiese afbrekingsgedrag van E.grandis het by 'n verhittings tempo van 50 ° C / min. Dit is ook bewys dat die verhoging van die oond verwarming tempo die termo-gravimetriese (TG) en differensiële termo-gravimetriese (DTG) kurwes na hoër temperature verskuif, terwyl dit ook die maksimum tempo van vervlugtiging laat toeneem het. Lignien het gelei tot die grootste spesifieke houtskool opbrengs en het ook oor die wydste temperatuur interval gereageer van al die monsters wat ondersoek is. Die gemiddelde aktiveringsenergieë vir die monsters wat ondersoek is, was 177,8, 141,0, 106,2 en 170,4 kJ / mol, onderskeidelik vir holosellulose, alpha-sellulose, Klason lignien en rou E.grandis. Bio-olie opbrengs is geoptimeer teen 76 wt. % (DAF) vir die SU1 kg / h Snel Pirolise aanleg met behulp van 'n gemiddelde biomassa deeltjiegrootte van 570 μm en 'n reaktor temperatuur van 470 ° C. Verskille in die onderskeie kondensasie kettings van die verskillende Snel Pirolise aanlegte wat ondersoek is, het gelei tot hoër gas- en houtskool opbrengste vir die KIT reaktor konfigurasies in vergelyking met die SU1kg/h FP plant. Verskille in die damp retensie tyd tussen Stadige (> 400 s) en Vakuum pirolise (<2 s) het gelei tot 'n hoër vloeistof en laer houtskool opbrengs vir Vakuum Pirolise. Plaaslike vloeistof opbrengs maksima van 41,1 en 64,4 wt. % (daf) is gevind vir Stadig en Vakuum pirolise onderskeidelik, bereik by 'n reaktor temperatuur van 450 ° C en 'n verhittingstempo van 17 ° C / min. Selfs al is houtskool opbrengste bevoordeel by lae reaktor temperature (269 - 300 ° C), is die hoër warmte waardes van die houtskool bevoordeel deur hoë reaktor temperature (29 - 34 MJ / kg vir 375 - 481 ° C). Reaktor temperatuur het die mees beduidende effek op die produk opbrengs en kwaliteit vir die onderskeie Stadige Pirolise en Vakuum Pirolise eksperimentele lopies gehad. Die bio-olies geproduseer tydens Stadige en Vakuum Pirolise was ryk aan furfuraal en asynsuur.

Text in English / There are limits on performance of processes and reactions set by material balances and by thermodynamics. The interaction of these theoretical limits and how they influence the behaviour of reactions and equipment is of interest to researchers and designers. This thesis looks at the conversion of biomass to gaseous products under various conditions, including a range of temperatures from ambient to 1500 ⁰C and in the presence or absence of oxygen. The limits of performance of the material balance can be represented as an Attainable Region (AR) in composition or extent space; we call this the MB-AR. The MB-AR represents all possible material balances that can be achieved for a given a set of feeds and set of possible products. The dimension of this space depends on the number of independent material balances. The extreme points of the MB-AR are of particular interest as these define the limiting compositions and the edges of the boundary of the MB-AR represent the limiting material balances. The MB-AR does not depend on temperature. The thermodynamic limits of performance of can be represented as an AR in the space of Gibbs Free Energy (G) and Enthalpy (H); this is called the G-H AR. The G-H AR is always two dimensional, no matter what the dimension of the MB-AR. Extreme points in the G-H AR are also extreme points in the MB-AR are; however not all extreme points in the MB-AR are extreme points in the G-H AR. The extreme points in the MB-AR are transformed by calculating G and H of the points at the condition of interest (reaction temperature and pressure). It is then necessary to find the convex hull in G-H space of this set of transformed points which gives us the boundary of the G-H AR. The extreme points in the G-H AR can be associated with material balances and the extreme point with the minimum G represents the global equilibrium or equivalently the most favoured material balance for the system. The edges of G-H AR are defined by the lines between neighbouring extreme points in the boundary of the G-H AR. These edges represent the limiting material balances in terms of defining the extremes of the G and H of the system. The G-H AR depends on the feed and products through the MB-AR, but also depends on temperature (and pressure). The set of points which are extreme points of both the MB-AR and the G-H AR changes with temperature. Geometrically, the transformed set of extreme points for the MB-AR moves in the GH space as temperature is changed and they move at different rates. Hence when finding the convex hull in the G-H space of the transformed extreme points of the MB-AR, G-H points become either boundary (extreme) points or move into the convex hull at different temperatures. Thus, the material balance which corresponds to the global minimum in G may change with temperature, as do the material balances which are associated with the edges of the G-H AR. Experiments are performed on biomass anaerobically at ambient temperature using microbes as the catalyst, and the products of this process are called biogas. The experiments were performed in a nitrogen plasma system on biomass at higher temperatures (400 ⁰C to 1000 ⁰C) also in the absence of oxygen, and this process would typically be referred to as pyrolysis. Oxygen was added to the plasma system and operated at temperatures between 700 ⁰C and 900 ⁰C, and this would typically be referred to as gasification. Thus, it was able to change the MB-AR by presence or absence of oxygen. By changing operating temperatures, the G-H AR is effectively changed with either the same or different MB-AR’s. The experiments show that in all cases, the product tends towards minimum G. Although this might not be surprising at the higher temperatures, minimizing G is not thought to be the driving force in microbial systems. An important insight from this is that if one were to try and make hydrogen only in a biological system, the system would need to have organisms that make hydrogen only. This is because the material balance that produces hydrogen has a lower change in G than the material balance that make methane. Thus, if there was a consortium of organisms and some of them could make methane, the methane producing organisms would dominate as they have the higher Gibbs Free Energy driving force. If the boundary of the G-H AR around the minimum G is fairly flat, or if many of the extreme points of the MB-AR lie close to the minimum G in the boundary of the G-H AR, then there are many material balances that will give the same G and H. Thus, there are a range of compositions with similar G and H and how one approaches the minimum G will determine the chemical composition of the product. This has important implications for the design, scale up and operation of equipment if a particular product is desired rather process efficiency. The low temperature anaerobic route to gasifying waste, using microbes as catalysts, has a very simple G-H AR, and the preferred products are CH4 and CO2, known as biogas. These units should be relatively stable to operate as none of the other products have G’s that are as negative as that of the biogas. Although not part of this thesis, small-scale anaerobic digesters were installed in communities and these do run easily and stably with fairly little intervention from the operator which seems to support our conclusion. We however could ask, why then have simple technologies, such an anaerobic digestion, not been widely adopted in Africa? To this end we worked with communities and spoke to people about their knowledge about the technology, their concerns and their possible interest in using new approaches to supply energy for cooking and lighting. We found that people were not aware of the technology but would be very interested in adopting a technology that supplied energy cheaply. To our surprise however, their major concern was around hygiene and safety, in that if the gas was made from “poo” how could the gas be clean and would cooking with it not contaminate the food and make people sick? This in hindsight is a very reasonable concern, although it had never occurred to us that this would be a perception. Engineers will have to work with social scientists and psychologist, amongst others, to address the concerns and needs of communities in order for sustainable technologies to be successfully adopted by communities. In summary, this thesis presents a tool for analysing biomass conversion to gaseous products in general, whether microbial or thermal. This tool gives insight into what is achievable, what the major factors are that affect the favoured product and how this can be manipulated to improve efficiency from an overall material and energy point of view. / Physics / D. Phil. (Physics)

nÃo hà / Este trabalho apresenta a modelagem e o desenvolvimento de um sistema de combustÃo de biomassa de baixo custo para ser utilizado em caldeiras geradoras de vapor ou em outros processos de aquecimento que utilizam biomassa na forma de cavacos de madeira ou pellets como combustÃvel. A qualidade do processo de combustÃo à avaliada pelo teor de oxigÃnio nos gases de escape. A partir dessa informaÃÃo e da necessidade de geraÃÃo de calor do sistema, desenvolveu-se uma estratÃgia de controle para a admissÃo de combustÃvel e de ar no processo. Uma vez que os analisadores de oxigÃnio industriais disponÃveis no mercado possuem custo elevado, projetou-se e desenvolveu-se um analisador de oxigÃnio de baixo custo baseado em sondas lambda de uso veicular. Foi dada atenÃÃo especial ao controle de temperatura desta sonda. O trabalho envolveu a identificaÃÃo de um modelo matemÃtico para a mesma, assim como simulaÃÃes para validaÃÃo e projeto de um controlador digital que garanta um controle efetivo. O instrumento foi testado em um queimador de gÃs liquefeito de petrÃleo e sua resposta foi comparada e ajustada à resposta de um analisador industrial com certificado de calibraÃÃo rastreado pelo Inmetro, obtendo-se resultados bem consistentes. Em um segundo momento desenvolveu-se uma modelagem matemÃtica simplificada de uma caldeira geradora de vapor e de um sistema de controle digital de admissÃo de combustÃvel e ar. O modelo foi simulado com os parÃmetros de uma caldeira real e os resultados indicaram um desempenho bastante satisfatÃrio. / This dissertation presents a mathematical modelling and development of a low cost biomass combustion system for use in industrial boilers or other process that uses biomass as combustible for heating. The system uses the oxygen gas rate on the exhaust gases to verify the quality of the combustion process. With this information and with an information about the needs for energy on the heating process, a control strategy was developed to the biomass and air admission system. Due to the high cost of industrial oxygen analyzers, a new equipment was developed based on a vehicular lambda probe. Especial attention was given to the temperature control, including the modeling, simulation and project of a digital controller. The equipment was tested on a propane burning system and the results were compared with a calibrated and certificated industrial gas analyzer. The response curve was adjusted to improve the precision of the developed instrument. On a second moment, a simplified mathematical model was created for an industrial boiler and for a digital controller for the air and biomass admission. This model was simulated using real boiler parameters and the results achieved indicates a good performance of the system.