IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i14p5284-d868033.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigation of the Effects of Torrefaction Temperature and Residence Time on the Fuel Quality of Corncobs in a Fixed-Bed Reactor

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph I. Orisaleye

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos 101017, Nigeria)

  • Simeon O. Jekayinfa

    (Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso 210214, Nigeria)

  • Ralf Pecenka

    (Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), 14469 Potsdam, Germany)

  • Adebayo A. Ogundare

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos 101017, Nigeria)

  • Michael O. Akinseloyin

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos 101017, Nigeria)

  • Opeyemi L. Fadipe

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lagos State University, Epe Campus, Lagos 101101, Nigeria
    Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA)

Abstract

Biomass from agriculture is a promising alternative fuel due to its carbon-neutral feature. However, raw biomass does not have properties required for its direct utilization for energy generation. Torrefaction is considered as a pretreatment method to improve the properties of biomass for energy applications. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of torrefaction temperature and residence time on some physical and chemical properties of torrefied corncobs. Therefore, a fixed-bed torrefaction reactor was developed and used in the torrefaction of corncobs. The torrefaction process parameters investigated were the torrefaction temperature (200, 240, and 280 °C) and the residence time (30, 60, and 90 min). The effects of these parameters on the mass loss, grindability, chemical composition, and calorific value of biomass were investigated. It was shown that the mass loss increased with increasing torrefaction temperature and residence time. The grinding throughput of the biomass was improved by increasing both the torrefaction temperature and the residence time. Torrefaction at higher temperatures and longer residence times had greater effects on the reduction in particle size of the milled corncobs. The calorific value was highest at a torrefaction temperature of 280 °C and a residence time of 90 min. The energy yield for all treatments ranged between 92.8 and 99.2%. The results obtained in this study could be useful in the operation and design of torrefaction reactors. They also provided insight into parameters to be investigated for optimization of the torrefaction reactor.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph I. Orisaleye & Simeon O. Jekayinfa & Ralf Pecenka & Adebayo A. Ogundare & Michael O. Akinseloyin & Opeyemi L. Fadipe, 2022. "Investigation of the Effects of Torrefaction Temperature and Residence Time on the Fuel Quality of Corncobs in a Fixed-Bed Reactor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:14:p:5284-:d:868033
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/14/5284/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/14/5284/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Javaid Akhtar & Muhammad Imran & Arshid Mahmood Ali & Zeeshan Nawaz & Ayyaz Muhammad & Rehan Khalid Butt & Maria Shahid Jillani & Hafiz Amir Naeem, 2021. "Torrefaction and Thermochemical Properties of Agriculture Residues," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Yi-Kai Chih & Wei-Hsin Chen & Hwai Chyuan Ong & Pau Loke Show, 2019. "Product Characteristics of Torrefied Wood Sawdust in Normal and Vacuum Environments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Jaya Shankar Tumuluru & Richard D. Boardman & Christopher T. Wright & J. Richard Hess, 2012. "Some Chemical Compositional Changes in Miscanthus and White Oak Sawdust Samples during Torrefaction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Wang, L. & Barta-Rajnai, E. & Skreiberg, Ø. & Khalil, R. & Czégény, Z. & Jakab, E. & Barta, Z. & Grønli, M., 2018. "Effect of torrefaction on physiochemical characteristics and grindability of stem wood, stump and bark," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 137-148.
    5. 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.
    6. Dorde Medic & Matthew Darr & Ajay Shah & Sarah Rahn, 2012. "The Effects of Particle Size, Different Corn Stover Components, and Gas Residence Time on Torrefaction of Corn Stover," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Martínez, Laura V. & Rubiano, Jairo E. & Figueredo, Manuel & Gómez, María F., 2020. "Experimental study on the performance of gasification of corncobs in a downdraft fixed bed gasifier at various conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1216-1226.
    8. 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.
    9. Granados, D.A. & Velásquez, H.I. & Chejne, F., 2014. "Energetic and exergetic evaluation of residual biomass in a torrefaction process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 181-189.
    10. Lauri, Pekka & Havlík, Petr & Kindermann, Georg & Forsell, Nicklas & Böttcher, Hannes & Obersteiner, Michael, 2014. "Woody biomass energy potential in 2050," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 19-31.
    11. He, Lixia & English, Burton C. & De La Torre Ugarte, Daniel G. & Hodges, Donald G., 2014. "Woody biomass potential for energy feedstock in United States," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 174-191.
    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. Maja Ivanovski & Darko Goričanec & Danijela Urbancl, 2023. "The Evaluation of Torrefaction Efficiency for Lignocellulosic Materials Combined with Mixed Solid Wastes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Łukasz Sobol & Jacek Łyczko & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Ryszard Sroczyński, 2023. "Relationship between Odor Adsorption Ability and Physical–Hydraulic Properties of Torrefied Biomass: Initial Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.

    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. 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.
    2. Oluoti, Kehinde & Doddapaneni, Tharaka Rama K.C. & Richards, Tobias, 2018. "Investigating the kinetics and biofuel properties of Alstonia congensis and Ceiba pentandra via torrefaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 134-141.
    3. 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.
    4. Abdulyekeen, Kabir Abogunde & Umar, Ahmad Abulfathi & Patah, Muhamad Fazly Abdul & Daud, Wan Mohd Ashri Wan, 2021. "Torrefaction of biomass: Production of enhanced solid biofuel from municipal solid waste and other types of biomass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    5. Chen, Lichun & Wen, Chang & Wang, Wenyu & Liu, Tianyu & Liu, Enze & Liu, Haowen & Li, Zexin, 2020. "Combustion behaviour of biochars thermally pretreated via torrefaction, slow pyrolysis, or hydrothermal carbonisation and co-fired with pulverised coal," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 867-877.
    6. Agar, David A. & Rudolfsson, Magnus & Lavergne, Simon & Melkior, Thierry & Da Silva Perez, Denilson & Dupont, Capucine & Campargue, Matthieu & Kalén, Gunnar & Larsson, Sylvia H., 2021. "Pelleting torrefied biomass at pilot-scale – Quality and implications for co-firing," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 766-774.
    7. Wu, Yazhen & Deppermann, Andre & Havlík, Petr & Frank, Stefan & Ren, Ming & Zhao, Hao & Ma, Lin & Fang, Chen & Chen, Qi & Dai, Hancheng, 2023. "Global land-use and sustainability implications of enhanced bioenergy import of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    8. Siwal, Samarjeet Singh & Zhang, Qibo & Devi, Nishu & Saini, Adesh Kumar & Saini, Vipin & Pareek, Bhawna & Gaidukovs, Sergejs & Thakur, Vijay Kumar, 2021. "Recovery processes of sustainable energy using different biomass and wastes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Abdul Waheed & Salman Raza Naqvi & Imtiaz Ali, 2022. "Co-Torrefaction Progress of Biomass Residue/Waste Obtained for High-Value Bio-Solid Products," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-20, November.
    10. Feng, Yipeng & Qiu, Keying & Zhang, Zhiping & Li, Chong & Rahman, Md. Maksudur & Cai, Junmeng, 2022. "Distributed activation energy model for lignocellulosic biomass torrefaction kinetics with combined heating program," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    11. Martino, Gaetano & Polinori, Paolo & Bufacchi, Marina & Rossetti, Enrica, 2020. "The biomass potential availability from olive cropping in Italy in a business perspective: Methodological approach and tentative estimates," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 526-534.
    12. Randall W. Jackson & Amir Borges Ferreira Neto & Elham Erfanian & Péter Járosi, 2019. "Woody Biomass Processing and Rural Regional Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 33(3), pages 234-247, August.
    13. Gupte, Ameya Pankaj & Basaglia, Marina & Casella, Sergio & Favaro, Lorenzo, 2022. "Rice waste streams as a promising source of biofuels: feedstocks, biotechnologies and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    14. Vikas Menghwani & Chad Walker & Tim Kalke & Bram Noble & Greg Poelzer, 2022. "Harvesting Local Energy: A Case Study of Community-Led Bioenergy Development in Galena, Alaska," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, June.
    15. M. Synek & J. Vašíček & M. Zeman, 2014. "Outlook of logging perspectives in the Czech Republic for the period 2013-2032," Journal of Forest Science, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 60(9), pages 372-381.
    16. Niu, Qi & Ronsse, Frederik & Qi, Zhiyong & Zhang, Dongdong, 2022. "Fast torrefaction of large biomass particles by superheated steam: Enhanced solid products for multipurpose production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 552-563.
    17. Sermyagina, Ekaterina & Saari, Jussi & Zakeri, Behnam & Kaikko, Juha & Vakkilainen, Esa, 2015. "Effect of heat integration method and torrefaction temperature on the performance of an integrated CHP-torrefaction plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 24-34.
    18. Umut Şen & Bruno Esteves & Helena Pereira, 2023. "Pyrolysis and Extraction of Bark in a Biorefineries Context: A Critical Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-23, June.
    19. Tiziana Maria Sirangelo & Richard Andrew Ludlow & Tatiana Chenet & Luisa Pasti & Natasha Damiana Spadafora, 2023. "Multi-Omics and Genome Editing Studies on Plant Cell Walls to Improve Biomass Quality," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, March.
    20. Niu, Yanqing & Lv, Yuan & Lei, Yu & Liu, Siqi & Liang, Yang & Wang, Denghui & Hui, Shi'en, 2019. "Biomass torrefaction: properties, applications, challenges, and economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    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:15:y:2022:i:14:p:5284-:d:868033. 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.