Cotton-gin trash (CGT) was pyrolyzed at different temperatures and reaction
times using an externally-heated batch reactor. The average yields of output products
(solid/char, liquid/bio-oil, and gaseous) were determined. The heating value (HV) of
CGT was measured to be around 15-16 MJ kg- 1 (6500-7000 Btu lb-1). In the first set of
tests, CGT was pyrolyzed at 600, 700, and 800°C and at 30, 45, and 60 min reaction
period. The maximum char yield of 40% by weight (wt.%) was determined at 600°C and
30 min settings, however, the HV of char was low and almost similar to the HV of CGT.
A maximum gas yield of 40 wt.% was measured at 800°C and 60 min and the highest
liquid yield of 30 wt.% was determined at 800°C and 30 min. In the modified pyrolysis
test, the effects of temperature (500, 600, 700, and 800°C) on the product yield and other
properties were investigated. The experiment was performed using the same reactor
purged with nitrogen at a rate of 1000 cm3 min-1. Gas yield increased as temperature was
increased while the effect was opposite on char yield. The maximum char yield of 38
wt.% was determined at 500°C and 30 min. The char had the largest fraction in the
energy output (70-83%) followed by gas (10-20%) and bio-oil (7- 9%). Maximum gas yield of 35 wt.% was determined at 800°C. The average yield of CO, H2 and total
hydrocarbons (THC) generally increased with increased temperature but CO2 production
decreased. Methane, ethane, and propane dominated the THC. The bio-oil yield at 600°C
was the highest at about 30 wt.% among the temperature settings. The HV of bio-oil was
low (2-5 MJ kg-1) due to minimal non-HC compounds and high moisture content (MC).
A simple energy balance of the process was performed. The process was considered
energy intensive due to the high amount of energy input (6100 kJ) while generating a
maximum energy output of only 10%. After disregarding the energy used for preparation
and pyrolysis, the energy losses ranged from 30-46% while the energy of the output
represent between 55-70% of the input energy from CGT.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2425 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Aquino, Froilan Ludana |
| Contributors | Capareda, Sergio C. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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