Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Some Significant Parameters on the Pyrolysis of Solid Biomass Materials

Abstract

The effect of some important parameters on the pyrolysis process in biomass solid fuel material was investigated experimentally using a batch furnace reactor in this study. Four significant parameters were selected, and their effects on process efficiency investigated; these were process temperature, feedstock type, biomass fuel particle size, and catalyst material. The experiments were implemented using three ranges of particle size: less than 0.25 mm, 0.3 to 0.5 mm, and 0.5 to 1.18 mm; and two temperature levels: 450 °C and 550 °C. Three concentrations of catalyst material (Ceria, CeO2) by weight were investigated: 16.7%, 25%, and 35%. The composition of the produced biogases, which consisted mainly of CO and CO2, were measured using gas analyser apparatus. Each experiment was performed for a different period of time based on the produced gases; thus, the experiments each lasted between 550 and 1,000 sec. For sawdust biomass fuel, the results revealed that the composition of produced gases decreased as the range of particle size increased. Moreover, there was a considerable positive effect of the catalyst on gas composition compared to the reference case (< 0.25 mm sawdust without catalyst). An increase in catalyst percentage was also seen to affect the residence time of the biomass pyrolysis process positively. However, for wastepaper biomass, the temperature had the most considerable effect on the composition of produced gases.