Javier Remón
University of York
Dr. Javier Remón is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (GCCE), in the Chemistry Department at the University of York (UK). His research activity is focused on the valorisation of different biomass residues for the production of value-added chemicals and energy using different thermochemical processes.
1. Introduction The increase in the worldwide energy demand along with declining resources have led researches to seek alternative technologies, materials and more sustainable strategies to produce energy, fuels and chemicals.... [ view full abstract ]
1. Introduction
The increase in the worldwide energy demand along with declining resources have led researches to seek alternative technologies, materials and more sustainable strategies to produce energy, fuels and chemicals. In this context, hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of biomass represents a promising and green alternative for biofuel production. In addition, as water is highly effective in microwave energy absorption, the combination of hydrothermal conditions together with microwave assisted heating allows a liquid product with appropriate fuel properties to be produced in a greener and more energetically efficient manner.
2. Method
This work addresses the valorisation of pine and spruce biomass pellets by means of microwave-assisted HTL using a co-precipitated Ni-Co/Al-Mg catalyst. In particular, the effects of the temperature (150-250 ºC), pressure (50-120 bar), reaction time (0-2 h) and catalyst/biomass ratio (0-0.25 g/g) were experimentally investigated on the products distribution and the most important physicochemical properties of the liquids produced. The experiments were planned according to a full factorial design of experiments and analysed by means of an ANOVA test.
3. Results and discussion
The statistical analysis of the results revealed that the operating variables had a significant influence on the process; the yield of solid, bio-oil and gas varying by 22-87%, 0-29% and 7-67%, respectively. The proportions of C, H and O in the bio-oil shifted by 2-70 wt.%, 4-11 wt.% and 25-87 wt.%, respectively, which varied its Higher Heating Value (HHV) between 4 and 28 MJ/kg. The GC-MS analysis of the bio-oil showed that it consisted of a complex mixture of esters (0–30%), aldehydes (4–69%), ketones (0-35%), alcohols (0–14), phenols (0–83), acids (0–28), cyclic compounds (0–38), acetates (0–10), ethers (0–27%) and furans (0–20%). The optimisation of the process revealed that it is possible to transform up to 27% of the biomass into a rich phenolic (47%) bio-oil, having a relatively high HHV (20 MJ/Kg) when a temperature of 250 ºC, a pressure of 80 bar and 0.03 g catalyst/g biomass are used for 2h. These promising results suggest that this process might represent a step-change in the production of liquid bio-fuels and platform chemicals from biomass.
