Preliminary study of sugarcane bagasse pyrolysis with in situ catalysis

Abstract

This work shows the results of the preliminary study of sugarcane bagasse pyrolysis with in situ catalysis, carried out in an experimental installation with a fixed bed oven. The biomass was subjected to granulometric and immediate analysis, resulting in a content of 24,36 % of moisture, 77,03 % of volatile matter, 2,91% of ashes and 1,29% of fixed carbon; the average particle diameter was 1.2 mm. The influence of the dose of catalyst C-1, in proportions of 10 and 20 %, on the yield of the pyrolysis products was analyzed. The experimental conditions were: mass of the biomass fed to the reactor of 18 g, heating rate 30 °C / min, residence time of the biomass in the reactor 30 min, temperature in the reactor 500 °C; the process was developed at an absolute pressure of 81,71 kPa. The highest liquid yield was obtained when the biomass was combined with 10 % of catalyst C1, the same being 41% (wet basis). The highest gas yield was obtained when the bagasse was pyrolyzed without the presence of catalyst. By qualitative analysis it was found that the liquid products of pyrolysis, with and without catalyst, evidenced the presence of phenols and enols, aldehydes and carbonyl compounds. The determination of the chemical properties of the carbon obtained showed that with the use of catalyst the content of volatile compounds decreased, which is consistent with the higher yield obtained from volatile products in the presence of catalyst.