Tuesday, April 20, 2010
LL Conference Facility (Hilton Clearwater Beach)
Torrefaction is low temperature pyrolysis that can serve as thermal pretreatment for biomass prior to energy conversion. Torrefaction increases the specific energy density of biomass by removing moisture and low molecular weight volatiles to create a homogeneous and hydrophobic solid fuel. This treated fuel is practical for storage and may have superior mechanical properties for size reduction and other processing compared to the original feedstock. The aim of this study is to characterize the char produced from torrefaction of synthetic post-Material Recovery Facility municipal solid waste and compare it to the torrefied chars of wheat straw and Douglas fir wood. The effects of residence time and torrefaction temperature on the physical and chemical properties are investigated for chars produced in a laboratory scale moving bed pyrolyzer. GC/MS is used to characterize liquid and gas products from torrefaction. SEM is used to examine changes in morphology of the chars in comparison with the original feedstock.