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Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass in a Novel Pilot Plant with Heat Recovery and Hydraulic Oscillation

Author

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  • Konstantinos Anastasakis

    (Biological and Chemical Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Hangøvej 2, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark)

  • Patrick Biller

    (Biological and Chemical Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Hangøvej 2, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark)

  • René B. Madsen

    (Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark)

  • Marianne Glasius

    (Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center and Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark)

  • Ib Johannsen

    (Biological and Chemical Engineering, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Hangøvej 2, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark)

Abstract

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is regarded as a promising technology for the production of biofuels from biomass and wastes. As such, there is a drive towards continuous-flow processing systems to aid process scale-up and eventually commercialization. The current study presents results from a novel pilot-scale HTL reactor with a feed capacity of up to 100 L/h and a process volume of approximately 20 L. The pilot plant employs a heat exchanger for heat recovery and a novel hydraulic oscillation system to increase the turbulence in the tubular reactor. The energy grass Miscanthus and the microalgae Spirulina , both representing advanced dedicated energy crops, as well as sewage sludge as high-potential waste stream were selected to assess the reactor performance. Biomass slurries with up to 16 wt% dry matter content were successfully processed. The heat recovery of the heat exchanger is found to increase with reactor run time, reaching 80% within 5–6 h of operation. The hydraulic oscillation system is shown to improve mixing and enhance heat transfer. Bio-crudes with average yields of 26 wt%, 33 wt% and 25 wt% were produced from Miscanthus , Spirulina and sewage sludge, respectively. The yields also appeared to increase with reactor run time. Bio-crude from HTL of Spirulina was mainly composed of palmitic acid, glycerol, heptadecane and linolelaidic acid, while biocrude from sewage sludge contained mainly palmitic acid, oleic acid and stearic acid. In contrast, biocrude from HTL of Miscanthus consisted of a large number of different phenolics. An energetic comparison between the three feedstocks revealed a thermal efficiency of 47%, 47% and 33% and energy return on investment (EROI) of 2.8, 3.3 and 0.5 for HTL of Miscanthus , Spirulina and sewage sludge, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Konstantinos Anastasakis & Patrick Biller & René B. Madsen & Marianne Glasius & Ib Johannsen, 2018. "Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass in a Novel Pilot Plant with Heat Recovery and Hydraulic Oscillation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:10:p:2695-:d:174653
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    11. Ekaterina Ovsyannikova & Andrea Kruse & Gero C. Becker, 2020. "Feedstock-Dependent Phosphate Recovery in a Pilot-Scale Hydrothermal Liquefaction Bio-Crude Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
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    13. Daniele Castello & Thomas Helmer Pedersen & Lasse Aistrup Rosendahl, 2018. "Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass: A Critical Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-35, November.
    14. Muhammad Salman Haider & Daniele Castello & Karol Michal Michalski & Thomas Helmer Pedersen & Lasse Aistrup Rosendahl, 2018. "Catalytic Hydrotreatment of Microalgae Biocrude from Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction: Heteroatom Removal and Their Distribution in Distillation Cuts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Riaru Ishizaki & Agusta Samodra Putra & Sosaku Ichikawa & Tofael Ahamed & Makoto M. Watanabe & Ryozo Noguchi, 2020. "Microalgae Oil Production Using Wastewater in Japan—Introducing Operational Cost Function for Sustainable Management of WWTP," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
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    17. Ong, Benjamin H.Y. & Walmsley, Timothy G. & Atkins, Martin J. & Varbanov, Petar S. & Walmsley, Michael R.W., 2019. "A heat- and mass-integrated design of hydrothermal liquefaction process co-located with a Kraft pulp mill," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    18. Ankit Mathanker & Snehlata Das & Deepak Pudasainee & Monir Khan & Amit Kumar & Rajender Gupta, 2021. "A Review of Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass for Biofuels Production with a Special Focus on the Effect of Process Parameters, Co-Solvents, and Extraction Solvents," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-60, August.

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