Batch-type Reactor Research Articles

Production of Biochar, Bio-Oil and Synthesis Gas from Cashew Nut Shell by Slow Pyrolysis

Cashew nut shell waste from northeast region of Brazil was characterized and slow pyrolyzed in a simple batch type reactor heated externally by liquefied petroleum gas as fuel. The experiments were performed using nitrogen or air as carrier gases. The properties of biochar, bio-oil and gases products were investigated and potential applications were proposed. Cashew nut shell showed a high heating value of 20.7 MJ kg−1 that is among the highest found for different types of biomass. Pyrolysis under nitrogen flow showed a yield of solid, liquid and gas products of about 30, 40 and 30 wt%, respectively. Under air flow an increase of gas phase (46 wt%) was observed with a decrease in the production of biochar and, mainly bio-oil. The biochars have high contents of carbon (70–75 wt%) and high heating values in the range of 25–28 MJ kg−1 presenting suitable properties for use as energy source. Biochars also contain significant quantities of K and minor amounts of Mg, Ca, Cu, Zn and Fe showing potential as fertilizer. The bio-oils showed high heating values of about 32 MJ kg−1 and are not suitable for use in pure form, but can be used in mixtures with Diesel (42.5 MJ kg−1). The gas phase revealed the predominance of CO2 and CO at temperatures lower than 400 °C and, above this temperature, there was a preferential formation of H2 resulting in synthesis gas with different compositions that could be burned to supply heat for the pyrolysis process and/or to produce organic chemicals.

Production of propylene via simultaneous dehydration and skeletal isomerisation of isobutanol on acid catalysts followed by metathesis

The catalytic performance of KOH/mordenite has been studied for transesterification of palm oil using a batch reactor and a packed-bed reactor at 60 °C and atmospheric pressure. The KOH/mordenite processed transesterification in the batch reactor gave the highest methyl ester yield of 96.7% under optimum conditions, while a methyl ester content over 94.5% was obtained in the packed-bed reactor. This comparison indicates that transesterification in a batch-type reactor gives a higher methyl ester yield than that of a continuous-flow reactor. Dealumination was found in the calcined catalysts and had a significant effect on the physical structure and chemical composition of the catalysts. Leaching of the potassium species was negligible, whereas depositing and washing of the reacted mixture with acetone on the catalyst surface were observed by FTIR.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of a wastewater native Chlorella sp. bacteria consortium: biocrude production and characterization

ABSTRACTAlong the recent developments of biofuel production, the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae appears as a major process step which could take advantage of converting the whole microalgae content instead of only extracting its lipid content. This study presents the HTL conversion of a microalgae Chlorella sp. bacteria consortium using a batch type reactor. The experiments were carried out using a full factorial experimental design approach, where the main chosen factors were the temperature, the residence time at maximum temperature and the dry-matter-to-water ratio. The biocrude oil is the targeted product characterized along this work; its production and its composition were studied. The yields of biocrudes approach other microalgae studies using pure strains of microalgae and batch-type reactors. Maximum yields (37%daf) and lowest O/C ratio (0.167) were obtained at the highest severity conditions (310 °C for 55 min and 0.15 dry-matter-to-water ratio). The energy return on energy invested (EROEI) of the process has been determined. The simulated distillation by thermogravimetric analysis (Sim-Dis-TGA) was conducted on the different obtained biocrude and no significant effect was observed with respect to five evaporation ranges among the studied conditions. GC-MS characterization of biocrude presents the 10 relatively most abundant components for each studied condition.

Monoalkylation of Methyl Phenylacetate Using in Situ Electrogenaration of 2-Pyrrolidone Anion in an Electrochemical Flow-Microreactor

Anionic species are important reaction intermediate in the field of organic synthesis. Among them, electrogenerated base (EGB) generated cathodically act not only as nucleophiles but also as bases, which have interesting reactivities.1 The EGBs could be formed by cathodic reductive deprotonation of probases such as 2-pyrrolidone, hindered phenol like 2,6-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, and triphenylmethane. In particular, EGB derived from 2-pyrrolidone is a versatile base and applicable to organic reactions such as Stevens rearrangement, selective a-monoalkylation of α-(aryl)acetate esters, and α-monoalkylation of 1,3-diketones.2,3 However, severe reaction conditions such as low temperature, inert gas are usually required for the use of EGBs in batch type reactors. Recently, flow microreactors are reserved much attentions as an attractive reaction field. Namely, they enable the precise control of short-lived species and thereby facilitate highly selective reactions that are difficult to achieve in a conventional reactor. In this sturdy, we wish to demonstrate that a flow microreactor is extremely useful in controlling reactions involving an EGB such as 2-pyrrolidone anion formed by the cathodic reduction of 2-pyrrolidone. As a model reaction, a-alkylation of methyl phenylacetate 3 using electrogenerated 2 was employed (Scheme 1). It is well known that the monoalkylated product 5 can be converted into some a-alkylphenylacetic acids, which possess high anti-inflammatory and analgetic activities. The flow microreactor fabricated for the model reaction consists of three reaction parts such as the cathodic reaction part for the generation of 2, the deprotonation part for the reaction between 2 and 3, and the final alkylation reaction part for the rapid use of the unstable intermediate 4 for obtaining the monoalkylated product 5 formedby thereaction with alkyl iodide (R–I). To perform such a multi-step reaction in a single-flow operation, we conceived the use of parallel laminar flow in a flow microreactor. The channel of the reactor is sufficiently small to ensure stable and laminar flow solutions. As shown in Figure 1, when two solutions (DMF solutions of probase 1 and methyl phenylacetate 3 are introduced through respective inlets (inlet 1 and inlet 2) of the two inlets flow microreactor, a stable liquid-liquid interface can be formed, and mass transfer between the input streams occurs only by means of diffusion. Therefore, the probase 1 introduced through cathodic side inlet (inlet 1) could be predominantly reduced, and in addition the re-oxidation of electrogenerated 2 could be avoided by its rapid reaction with 3 at a liquid-liquid interface before reaching to the anode surface. Furthermore, the reactive intermediate 4 formed at the interface could be used rapidly for the following alkylation reaction with alkyl iodide at the downstream in the flow operation. Consequently, the monoalkylation in electrochemical flow-microreactor was proceeded very efficiency at ambient temperature. Namely, the monoalkylated product 5 was obtained in 85% yield without forming any by-products. References 1 R. C. Hallcher, and M. M. Baizer, Liebigs Ann., 1977, 737. 2 T. Shono, S. Kashimura, and H. Nogusa, J. Org. Chem., 1984, 49, 2043. 3 T. Shono, S. Kashimura, M. Sawamura, and T. Soejima, J. Org. Chem., 1988, 53, 907. Figure 1

High-Energy and Safe Positive Electrode Material with Two-Slope Concentration Gradient for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Li[Ni0.65Co0.13Mn0.22]O2 cathode with two-sloped full concentration gradient (TSFCG), maximizing the Ni content in the inner part of the particle and the Mn content near the particle surface, is synthesized via a specially designed batch-type reactor. The cathode delivers a discharge capacity of 200 mAh g−1 (4.3 V cutoff) with excellent capacity retention of 88% after 1500 cycles in a full-cell configuration. Overall electrochemical performance of the TSFCG cathode is benchmarked against conventional cathode (CC) with same composition and commercially available Li[Ni0.8Co0.15Al0.05]O2 (NCA). The TSFCG cathode exhibits the best cycling stability, rate capability, and thermal stability of the three electrodes. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the cycled TSFCG, CC, and NCA cathodes shows that the TSFCG electrode maintains both its mechanical and structural integrity whereas the NCA electrode nearly pulverizes due to the strain during cycling.

Effect of the aging time of the precipitate on the activity of Cu/ZnO catalysts for alcohol-assisted low temperature methanol synthesis

Cu/ZnO_X catalysts were prepared by a co-precipitation method with various aging times of the precipitate (X=10min–10h). All prepared catalysts were evaluated in alcohol-assisted methanol synthesis through a low temperature liquid phase reaction using a batch type reactor under a reaction pressure of 50bar at a temperature of 150°C. Unlike the conventional low temperature methanol synthesis, ethanol was adopted as both the solvent and the reaction intermediate in this study. Variation of the aging time of the precipitate led to numerous changes in the surface properties of catalysts, resulting in the different catalytic activity in this reaction. This means that aging time of the precipitate should be precisely controlled for obtaining an efficient Cu/ZnO catalyst by a co-precipitation method. The results of catalytic activities and catalyst characterizations clearly demonstrated that the copper particle size, the morphology, and the strong acidity of the Cu/ZnO catalysts played key roles in this reaction. Small copper particle size, plate-like morphology, and high strong acidity of the catalysts were favorable for efficiently producing methanol in this reaction. Among the Cu/ZnO_X catalysts, the Cu/ZnO_5h catalyst showed the best catalytic activity. According to the proposed reaction pathway, not only the intrinsic activity of metallic copper but also the acid properties of catalysts were important factors to determine the activity of Cu/ZnO catalysts in this reaction.

Gaseous benzene degradation by photocatalysis using ZnO + Zn2TiO4 thin films obtained by sol-gel process.

The benzene pollutant in gaseous phase was successfully degraded by using ZnO + Zn2TiO4 multicomponent oxide thin films as photocatalysts. The films were obtained with different Ti/Zn ratios (0, 0.20, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.67, 0.84, and 1) by the sol-gel route. The initial level of benzene concentration was 110 ± 10ppm. The process was carried out under different conditions of relative humidity (RH): 25, 50, and 80% in a batch-type reactor, at room temperature. The results show benzene degradation near to 95% at t = 240min, where the multicomponent oxide semiconductor has a Ti/Zn ratio of 0.67. Meanwhile, with the TiO2 thin films, only a degradation of 70% was reached at the same measurement conditions. This synergistic effect on the photocatalytic activity is a result of the coupling of both semiconductor oxides. An adverse effect on the photocatalytic activity was observed as the relative humidity increases.

Hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol over Pt loaded zeolitic materials

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of guaiacol in a batch-type reactor at 40bar and 250°C was investigated using six different catalysts, Pt/HZSM-5, Pt/Mesoporous Beta, Pt/HBeta, Pt/MMZBeta, Pt/Al-MCM-48, and Pt/Si-MCM-48. Among various catalysts, Pt/Mesoporous Beta and Pt/HBeta, which have both large pores and strong acid sites, showed guaiacol conversions larger than 90%. The main product species of HDO of guaiacol was cyclohexane. Meanwhile, Pt/Al-MCM-48 and Pt/MMZBeta, which are mesoporous catalysts with weak acid sites, led to lower guaiacol conversions than Pt/Mesoporous Beta and Pt/HBeta and the main product components were cyclohexane and 1,1-bicyclohexyl resulting from CC coupling reactions.

Heterogeneous hydrogenation of nitroaromatic compounds on gold catalysts: Influence of titanium substitution in MCM-41 mesoporous supports

A series of Ti-modified MCM-41 supports and their respective Au catalysts were prepared and characterized to study the effect of titanium into the support and on the characteristics of the Au surface species for heterogeneous hydrogenation of aromatic nitrocompounds. The systems were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffuse reflectance UV–vis (DRUV–vis), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, ICP-MS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Additionally, these catalysts were tested for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene in a batch-type reactor using ethanol as the solvent at 25°C. Based on a combined FT-IR and DRUV–vis was possible to conclude that the Ti(IV) is incorporated into the framework of MCM-41 and Ti-containing MCM-41 catalysts were more active than an MCM-41 unmodified catalyst. The Ti(X)-MCM-41 supports prepared with Ti 2.0wt% incorporation showed the best catalytic performance, which was attributed to an optimal number of isolated Ti sites that increased the Au stability on the support surface. For this system, the effect of the H2 pressure, solvent nature and recyclability of the catalyst was also studied. Finally, a quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) model was obtained for the catalytic activities of para-substituted nitrobenzenes. The multilinear model considered two parametric descriptors: the sigma constant (σ) and the hydrophobic π-constant, which account for the electronic and hydrophobic effect of the substituents.

High-Speed Morphology Control of Boehmite Nanoparticles by Supercritical Hydrothermal Treatment with Carboxylic Acids

This study demonstrates that the morphology of boehmite (AlOOH) nanoparticles can be controlled over a short timespan by supercritical hydrothermal treatment in the presence of alkyl carboxylic acids including hexanoic, octanoic, decanoic, tetradecanoic, and octadecanoic acids. Boehmite nanoparticles were treated with carboxylic acid in supercritical water at 400 °C and at a water density of 0.35 g/cm3 in a batch-type reactor. When the carboxylic acid was not added, the particles were shaped as rhombic plates. However, the addition of carboxylic acid changed the crystal morphology to hexagonal plates. The aspect ratio (i.e., [length along the a-axis]/[length along the c-axis]) of the rhombic plates increased with a treatment time of 2–30 min, which is a much shorter timespan than that used for conventional hydrothermal crystallization. The aspect ratio of the hexagonal plates increased with increasing concentration of alkyl carboxylic acids. These results clearly indicate that carboxylic acids enhance the dissolution and recrystallization of boehmite. The aspect ratio increased with decreasing length of the alkyl chain of alkyl-carboxylic acid added to the system. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that carboxylic acids modified the surface of the boehmite particles. The coverage of the alkyl carboxylic acid on the surface of the nanoparticles was evaluated from the weight loss curve obtained from TGA, and the surface area was evaluated from transmission electron microscopy, which showed that the aspect ratio of the particles increased with increasing the coverage. The results suggest that the carboxylic acid suppresses crystal growth along the shorter axis through surface-capping, thus enhancing dissolution and crystal growth along the a-axis.

Hydrogen Reduction of NiO Particles in a Single-Stage Fluidized-Bed Reactor without Sticking

A commercial NiO (green nickel oxide, 86 wt% Ni) powder was reduced using a batch-type fluidized-bed reactor in a temperature range of 500 to 600 oC and in a residence time range of 5 to 90 min. The reduction rate increased with increases in temperature; however, agglomeration and sintering (sticking) of Ni particles noticeably took place at high temperatures above 600 oC. An increasing tendency toward sticking was also observed at long residence times. In order to reduce the oxygen content in the powder to a level below 1 % without any sticking problems, which can lead to defluidization, proper temperature and residence time for a stable fluidized-bed operation should be established. In this study, these values were found to be 550 oC and 60 min, respectively. Another important condition is the specific gas consumption rate, i.e. the volume amount (Nm3) of hydrogen gas used to reduce 1 ton of Green NiO ore. The optimum gas consumption rate was found to be 5,000 Nm3/ton-NiO for the complete reduction. The Avrami model was applied to this study; experimental data are most closely fitted with an exponent (m) of 0.6 ± 0.01 and with an overall rate constant (k) in the range of 0.35~0.45, depending on the temperature.

New Route for the Production of Thermosensitive Polymer With Pulsed Arc Discharge at the Argon–Water Interface

Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) is well known about an exhibition of coil-to-globule transition below the lower critical solution temperature (32°C) in aqueous media. Because of this temperature near the human body, it has focused on as one of the functional polymers available to industries. However, the synthesis of PNIPAM has been conventionally conducted in combined harmful solvents for considerable long operating times. In this paper, we aimed to develop a novel technique that PNIPAM can be produced in a rapid and selective manner with pulsed discharges at ambient temperature and pressure. Reactions were carried out using a stainless steel batch-type reactor (inner volume: 15 mL) in the presence of 2,2'-Azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride as an initiator at 25°C-30°C, 0.89 M NIPAM aqueous solution, and pulse repetition rates 1-50 pps for 1-15-min treatment times. As the results, in most cases, PNIPAMs were able to be produced within a couple of minutes in relative high production yield and selectivity.

Influence of TiO2 phase composition on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/MWCNT composites prepared by combined sol–gel/hydrothermal method

Titanium dioxide/multiwall carbon nanotube (TiO2/MWCNT) composites were prepared by sol–gel method with hydrolysis of titanium alkoxide precursor followed by crystallization via hydrothermal treatment at different acid concentrations. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements revealed that the acid concentration has serious control over the morphology which is in good agreement with the change of specific surface area. According to the X-ray diffraction analysis of the samples the anatase/rutile ratio of the TiO2 in the composite can be tuned by the manipulation of acid concentration used for the hydrothermal crystallization. Samples were tested in aqueous-phase photocatalytic degradation reaction of salicylic acid in a batch-type foam reactor using relatively low power UV-A irradiation. The change in salicylic acid concentration was monitored by UV–vis spectroscopy technique. Anatase/rutile ratio decreased with increasing acid concentration and photocatalytic performance was decreased with increasing rutile content, however low rutile content (11wt%) enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency above all prepared samples.

Efforts for long-term protection of palladium hydrodechlorination catalysts

Nano-sized palladium (Pd) catalysts are known for their high intrinsic hydrodechlorination (HDC) activity towards many chlorinated water pollutants, converting them into non-harmful compounds. Optimization of catalyst protection by embedding various types of Pd catalysts (Pd on oxidic supports and in-situ generated Pd clusters) into poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) layers was studied together with their use in HDC reactions. The catalyst performance in standard batch and long-term experimental set-ups was used to better understand and optimize the Pd-PDMS system. The phenomenon of polymer deterioration by entrapped HDC-generated HCl is studied for various systems and found to be the main reason for limited life times of Pd-PDMS systems.Pd-PDMS composites were found to provide long-term protection from ionic catalyst poisons. This gain in prolonged catalyst protection goes along with an inevitable decrease in specific catalyst activity which is unhesitantly accepted for the benefit of a longer-lasting catalytic activity. However, when comparing the relative loss of the specific Pd activity due to embedding, it is found to be much lower for initially less active catalyst particles (e.g. a factor of 2 for Pd/Al2O3) compared to about two orders of magnitude for the highly active nanoscale Pd particles. It could be shown that embedded catalysts in continuously operated long-term set-ups have enhanced resistance and longevity compared to those tested in repeated batch-type reaction cycles. PDMS-embedded Pd/Al2O3 maintains its full initial activity up to turnover numbers of >750 (for trichloroethene as probe substance), whereas the catalyst system loses more than 50% of its initial activity for a comparable catalyst utilization (TON≈750) operated in batch cycles.

IMPROVING OF STABILITY OF FORMATE DEHYDROGENASE FROM Candida methylica BY IMMOBILIZATION ONTO EUPERGIT C 250 L

Formate dehydrogenase (FDH) from Candida methylica has covalently been immobilized onto Eupergit C 250 L to improve its stability and reusability. The immobilization and activity yields were obtained as 80% and 42%, respectively. The optimum pH values were 7.0 and the optimum temperature values were 35 °C for either free or immobilized FDH preparations. The apparent Km—k cat values were 4.18±0.22 mM—0.182±0.008 s -1 for the free FDH and 2.93±0.11 mM—0.077±0.004 s -1 for the immobilized FDH. The free FDH completely lost its initial activity at 35°C and 50 °C after 24 h of preincubation, whereas the immobilized FDH retained 84% and 77% of its initial activity under these conditions, respectively. The immobilized FDH retained 62% of its initial activity after 10 reuses in a batch type reactor.

Unraveling structural and magnetic information during growth of nanocrystalline SrFe12O19

Hydrothermal synthesis of SrFe12O19is followedin situusing PXRD, and successfully reproducedex situusing a custom-designed batch-type reactor.

Upgrading of vacuum residue in batch type reactor using Ni–Mo supported on goethite catalyst

It is imperative to develop an efficient catalyst to convert vacuum residue (VR) into low boiling point liquid products via an environmentally benign pathway. Ni–Mo bimetal was impregnated on goethite supports and well characterized using various analytical techniques. VR hydrocracking catalytic activities were investigated in a batch reactor. The 1%Ni–4.5%Mo/Goethite catalyst showed a high yield of low boiling point liquid products, 69.8%, with 80% VR conversion at 420°C in the presence of 70bar initial hydrogen pressure in 3h. In these liquid products, 8.6% of naphtha, 51.4% of middle distillate, 9.8% of vacuum gas oil (VGO) with 28.1% of saturates, 62.5% of aromatics, 8.4% of resins and >1% of asphaltenes were confirmed by TGA and SARA analysis, respectively. The experimental findings indicated that the formation of low boiling point liquid products depends on physical parameters and chemical composition of the catalyst. This paper describes the synthesis of the supported catalysts, influences of the active metal composition, metal/support interaction, and process parameters for hydrocracking of VR into high value, low boiling point liquid products.

Experimental investigation of pyrolysis of rice straw using bench-scale auger, batch and fluidized bed reactors

Energy conversion efficiencies of three pyrolysis reactors (bench-scale auger, batch, and fluidized bed) were investigated using rice straw as the feedstock at a temperature of 500 °C. The highest bio-oil yield of 43% was obtained from the fluidized bed reactor, while the maximum bio-char yield of 48% was obtained from the batch reactor. Similar bio-oil yields were obtained from the auger and batch type reactors. The GCMS and FTIR were used to evaluate the liquid products from all reactors. The best quality bio-oil and bio-char from the batch reactor was determined to have a heating value of 31 MJ/kg and 19 MJ/kg, respectively. The highest alkali mineral was found in the bio-char produced from the auger reactor. The energy conversion efficiencies of the three reactors indicated that the majority of the energy (50–64%) was in the bio-char products from the auger and batch reactors, while the bio-oil from the fluidized bed reactor contained the highest energy (47%). A Sankey diagram has been produced to show the flows of product energy from each pyrolysis process. The result will help determine which conversion process would be optimal for producing specific products of bio-char, bio-oil, and gas depending on the needs.

Natural biosorbents (garlic stem and horse chesnut shell) for removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions.

The biosorption of Cr(VI) by the garlic stem (GS)-Allium sativum L. and horse chesnut shell (HCS)-Aesculus hippocastanum plant residues in a batch type reactor was studied in detail for the purpose of wastewater treatment. The influence of initial Cr(VI) concentration, time, and pH was investigated to optimize Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solutions and equilibrium isotherms and kinetic data. This influence was evaluated. The adsorption capacity of the GS and the HCS for Cr(VI) was determined with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, and the data was fitted to the Langmuir. The adsorption capacity of the GS and the HCS was found to be 103.09 and 142.85mg/g of adsorbent from a solution containing 3000ppm of Cr(VI), respectively. The GS's capacity was considerably lower than that of the HCS in its natural form. Gibbs free energy was spontaneous for all interactions, and the adsorption process exhibited exothermic enthalpy values. The HCS was shown to be a promising biosorbent for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solutions.

Continuous hydrothermal co-liquefaction of aspen wood and glycerol with water phase recirculation

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising technology for the conversion of a wide range of bio-feedstock into a biocrude; a mixture of chemical compounds that holds the potential for a renewable production of chemicals and fuels. Most research in hydrothermal liquefaction is performed in batch type reactors, although a continuous and energy-efficient operation is paramount for such process to be feasible. In this work an experimental campaign in a continuous bench scale unit is presented. The campaign is based on glycerol-assisted hydrothermal liquefaction of aspen wood carried out with the presence of a homogeneous catalyst at supercritical water conditions, 400°C and 300bar. Furthermore, in the experimental campaign a water phase recirculation step is incorporated to evaluate the technical feasibility of such procedure. In total, four batches of approximately 100kg of feed each were processed successfully at steady state conditions without any observation of system malfunctioning. The biocrude obtained was characterized using several analytical methods to evaluate the feasibility of the process and the quality of the product. Results showed that a high quality biocrude was obtained having a higher heating value of 34.3MJ/kg. The volatile fraction of the biocrude consisted mostly of compounds having number of carbon atoms in the C6–C12 range similar to gasoline. In terms of process feasibility, it was revealed that total organic carbon (TOC) and ash significantly accumulated in the water phase when such is recirculated for the proceeding batch. After four batches the TOC and the ash mass fraction of the water phase were 136.2 [g/L] and 12.6 [%], respectively. Water phase recirculation showed a slight increase in the biocrude quality in terms on an effective hydrogen-to-carbon ratio, but it showed no effects on the product gas composition or the pH of the water phase. The successful operation demonstrated the technical feasibility of a continuous production of high quality biocrude.