IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2019i1p175-d195275.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Torrefaction as a Valorization Method Used Prior to the Gasification of Sewage Sludge

Author

Listed:
  • Halina Pawlak-Kruczek

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Mateusz Wnukowski

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Lukasz Niedzwiecki

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Michał Czerep

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Mateusz Kowal

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Krystian Krochmalny

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Jacek Zgóra

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Michał Ostrycharczyk

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Marcin Baranowski

    (Department of Boilers, Burners and Energy Systems; Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering; Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Wilhelm Jan Tic

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 45-758 Opole, Poland
    West Technology &Trading Polska Sp. z o.o., 45-641 Opole, Poland)

  • Joanna Guziałowska-Tic

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 45-758 Opole, Poland)

Abstract

The gasification and torrefaction of sewage sludge have the potential to make the thermal utilization of sewage sludge fully sustainable, thus limiting the use of expensive fossil fuels in the process. This includes sustainability in terms of electricity consumption. Although a great deal of work has been performed so far regarding the gasification of sewage sludge and some investigations have been performed in the area of its torrefaction, there is still a gap in terms of the influence of the torrefaction of the sewage sludge on its subsequent gasification. This study presents the results from the torrefaction tests, performed on a pilot scale reactor, as well as two consecutive steam gasification tests, performed in an allothermal fixed bed gasifier, in order to determine if torrefaction can be deemed as a primary method of the reduction of tar content for the producer gas, from the aforementioned gasification process. A comparative analysis is performed based on the results obtained during both tests, with special emphasis on the concentrations of condensable compounds (tars). The obtained results show that the torrefaction of sewage sludge, performed prior to gasification, can indeed have a positive influence on the gas quality. This is beneficial especially in terms of the content of heavy tars with melting points above 40 °C.

Suggested Citation

  • Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Mateusz Wnukowski & Lukasz Niedzwiecki & Michał Czerep & Mateusz Kowal & Krystian Krochmalny & Jacek Zgóra & Michał Ostrycharczyk & Marcin Baranowski & Wilhelm Jan Tic & Joanna, 2019. "Torrefaction as a Valorization Method Used Prior to the Gasification of Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:175-:d:195275
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/1/175/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/1/175/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ning-Yi Wang & Chun-Hao Shih & Pei-Te Chiueh & Yu-Fong Huang, 2013. "Environmental Effects of Sewage Sludge Carbonization and Other Treatment Alternatives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Chew, J.J. & Doshi, V., 2011. "Recent advances in biomass pretreatment – Torrefaction fundamentals and technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 4212-4222.
    3. Huang, Y.W. & Chen, M.Q. & Li, Q.H. & Xing, W., 2018. "Hydrogen-rich syngas produced from co-gasification of wet sewage sludge and torrefied biomass in self-generated steam agent," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 202-213.
    4. Sebastian Werle & Mariusz Dudziak, 2014. "Analysis of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants in Dried Sewage Sludge and By-Products of Dried Sewage Sludge Gasification," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-15, January.
    5. Lasek, Janusz A. & Kopczyński, Marcin & Janusz, Marcin & Iluk, Andrzej & Zuwała, Jarosław, 2017. "Combustion properties of torrefied biomass obtained from flue gas-enhanced reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 362-368.
    6. Wilhelm Jan Tic & Joanna Guziałowska-Tic & Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Eugeniusz Woźnikowski & Adam Zadorożny & Łukasz Niedźwiecki & Mateusz Wnukowski & Krystian Krochmalny & Michał Czerep & Michał Ostryc, 2018. "Novel Concept of an Installation for Sustainable Thermal Utilization of Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, March.
    7. Bui, T. & Loof, R. & Bhattacharya, S.C., 1994. "Multi-stage reactor for thermal gasification of wood," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 397-404.
    8. Werle, Sebastian & Wilk, Ryszard K., 2010. "A review of methods for the thermal utilization of sewage sludge: The Polish perspective," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 1914-1919.
    9. Asadullah, Mohammad, 2014. "Biomass gasification gas cleaning for downstream applications: A comparative critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 118-132.
    10. Huang, Yu-Fong & Sung, Hsuan-Te & Chiueh, Pei-Te & Lo, Shang-Lien, 2016. "Co-torrefaction of sewage sludge and leucaena by using microwave heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P1), pages 1-7.
    11. Prins, Mark J. & Ptasinski, Krzysztof J. & Janssen, Frans J.J.G., 2006. "More efficient biomass gasification via torrefaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(15), pages 3458-3470.
    12. Michael Huang & Chia-Chi Chang & Min-Hao Yuan & Ching-Yuan Chang & Chao-Hsiung Wu & Je-Lueng Shie & Yen-Hau Chen & Yi-Hung Chen & Chungfang Ho & Wei-Ren Chang & Tzu-Yi Yang & Far-Ching Lin, 2017. "Production of Torrefied Solid Bio-Fuel from Pulp Industry Waste," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-13, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Čespiva, Jakub & Wnukowski, Mateusz & Niedzwiecki, Lukasz & Skřínský, Jan & Vereš, Ján & Ochodek, Tadeáš & Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina & Borovec, Karel, 2020. "Characterization of tars from a novel, pilot scale, biomass gasifier working under low equivalence ratio regime," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 775-785.
    2. Paweł Ziółkowski & Stanisław Głuch & Piotr Józef Ziółkowski & Janusz Badur, 2022. "Compact High Efficiency and Zero-Emission Gas-Fired Power Plant with Oxy-Combustion and Carbon Capture," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-39, April.
    3. Krochmalny, Krystian & Niedzwiecki, Lukasz & Pelińska-Olko, Ewa & Wnukowski, Mateusz & Czajka, Krzysztof & Tkaczuk-Serafin, Monika & Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina, 2020. "Determination of the marker for automation of torrefaction and slow pyrolysis processes – A case study of spherical wood particles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 350-360.
    4. Vishwajeet & Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Marcin Baranowski & Michał Czerep & Artur Chorążyczewski & Krystian Krochmalny & Michał Ostrycharczyk & Paweł Ziółkowski & Paweł Madejski & Tadeusz Mączka & Amit A, 2022. "Entrained Flow Plasma Gasification of Sewage Sludge–Proof-of-Concept and Fate of Inorganics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Szymon Szufa & Grzegorz Wielgosiński & Piotr Piersa & Justyna Czerwińska & Maria Dzikuć & Łukasz Adrian & Wiktoria Lewandowska & Marta Marczak, 2020. "Torrefaction of Straw from Oats and Maize for Use as a Fuel and Additive to Organic Fertilizers—TGA Analysis, Kinetics as Products for Agricultural Purposes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-30, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wilhelm Jan Tic & Joanna Guziałowska-Tic & Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Eugeniusz Woźnikowski & Adam Zadorożny & Łukasz Niedźwiecki & Mateusz Wnukowski & Krystian Krochmalny & Michał Czerep & Michał Ostryc, 2018. "Novel Concept of an Installation for Sustainable Thermal Utilization of Sewage Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Krochmalny, Krystian & Niedzwiecki, Lukasz & Pelińska-Olko, Ewa & Wnukowski, Mateusz & Czajka, Krzysztof & Tkaczuk-Serafin, Monika & Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina, 2020. "Determination of the marker for automation of torrefaction and slow pyrolysis processes – A case study of spherical wood particles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 350-360.
    3. Hao Luo & Lukasz Niedzwiecki & Amit Arora & Krzysztof Mościcki & Halina Pawlak-Kruczek & Krystian Krochmalny & Marcin Baranowski & Mayank Tiwari & Anshul Sharma & Tanuj Sharma & Zhimin Lu, 2020. "Influence of Torrefaction and Pelletizing of Sawdust on the Design Parameters of a Fixed Bed Gasifier," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Batidzirai, B. & Mignot, A.P.R. & Schakel, W.B. & Junginger, H.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2013. "Biomass torrefaction technology: Techno-economic status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-214.
    5. Hsu, Tsung-Chi & Chang, Chia-Chi & Yuan, Min-Hao & Chang, Ching-Yuan & Chen, Yi-Hung & Lin, Cheng-Fang & Ji, Dar-Ren & Shie, Je-Lueng & Manh, Do Van & Wu, Chao-Hsiung & Chiang, Sheng-Wei & Lin, Far-Ch, 2018. "Upgrading of Jatropha-seed residue after mechanical extraction of oil via torrefaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 773-781.
    6. Dinko Đurđević & Saša Žiković & Tomislav Čop, 2022. "Socio-Economic, Technical and Environmental Indicators for Sustainable Sewage Sludge Management and LEAP Analysis of Emissions Reduction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-15, August.
    7. Ping Wang & Bret H. Howard, 2017. "Impact of Thermal Pretreatment Temperatures on Woody Biomass Chemical Composition, Physical Properties and Microstructure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    8. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Peng, Jianghong & Bi, Xiaotao T., 2015. "A state-of-the-art review of biomass torrefaction, densification and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 847-866.
    9. Dinko Đurđević & Saša Žiković & Paolo Blecich, 2022. "Sustainable Sewage Sludge Management Technologies Selection Based on Techno-Economic-Environmental Criteria: Case Study of Croatia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-23, May.
    10. Sabil, Khalik M. & Aziz, Muafah A. & Lal, Bhajan & Uemura, Yoshimitsu, 2013. "Synthetic indicator on the severity of torrefaction of oil palm biomass residues through mass loss measurement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 821-826.
    11. Emmanouil Karampinis & Dimitrios-Sotirios Kourkoumpas & Panagiotis Grammelis & Emmanuel Kakaras, 2015. "New power production options for biomass and cogeneration," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(6), pages 471-485, November.
    12. Recari, J. & Berrueco, C. & Puy, N. & Alier, S. & Bartrolí, J. & Farriol, X., 2017. "Torrefaction of a solid recovered fuel (SRF) to improve the fuel properties for gasification processes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 177-188.
    13. Fan, Yuyang & Li, Luwei & Tippayawong, Nakorn & Xia, Shengpeng & Cao, Fengzhu & Yang, Xingwei & Zheng, Anqing & Zhao, Zengli & Li, Haibin, 2019. "Quantitative structure-reactivity relationships for pyrolysis and gasification of torrefied xylan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    14. Adrian Knapczyk & Sławomir Francik & Marcin Jewiarz & Agnieszka Zawiślak & Renata Francik, 2020. "Thermal Treatment of Biomass: A Bibliometric Analysis—The Torrefaction Case," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-31, December.
    15. Huang, Y.W. & Chen, M.Q. & Li, Q.H. & Xing, W., 2018. "Hydrogen-rich syngas produced from co-gasification of wet sewage sludge and torrefied biomass in self-generated steam agent," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 202-213.
    16. Vera Marcantonio & Michael Müller & Enrico Bocci, 2021. "A Review of Hot Gas Cleaning Techniques for Hydrogen Chloride Removal from Biomass-Derived Syngas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-15, October.
    17. Čespiva, Jakub & Wnukowski, Mateusz & Niedzwiecki, Lukasz & Skřínský, Jan & Vereš, Ján & Ochodek, Tadeáš & Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina & Borovec, Karel, 2020. "Characterization of tars from a novel, pilot scale, biomass gasifier working under low equivalence ratio regime," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 775-785.
    18. Peduzzi, Emanuela & Boissonnet, Guillaume & Haarlemmer, Geert & Dupont, Capucine & Maréchal, François, 2014. "Torrefaction modelling for lignocellulosic biomass conversion processes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 58-67.
    19. Kopczyński, Marcin & Lasek, Janusz A. & Iluk, Andrzej & Zuwała, Jarosław, 2017. "The co-combustion of hard coal with raw and torrefied biomasses (willow (Salix viminalis), olive oil residue and waste wood from furniture manufacturing)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 1316-1325.
    20. Antonio Molino & Vincenzo Larocca & Simeone Chianese & Dino Musmarra, 2018. "Biofuels Production by Biomass Gasification: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-31, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:175-:d:195275. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.