Major Products Obtained from Plasma Torch Pyrolysis of Sunflower-Oil Cake

• Published in: Energy & fuels 2008-01, Vol.22 (1), p.75-82
• Main Authors: Shie, Je-Lueng, Chang, Ching-Yuan, Tu, Wen-Kai, Yang, Yu-Chieh, Liao, Jui-Ke, Tzeng, Chin-Ching, Li, Heng-Yi, Yu, Yuh-Jenq, Kuo, Ching-Hui, Chang, Lieh-Chih
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biomass; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Natural energy
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/ef700301v

Bioenergy is now accepted as having a potential to provide a significant portion of the projected renewable energy provisions of the future. Therefore, biomass waste is one of the bioenergy sources and can be converted to syngas and liquid oil as a fuel or raw material to further produce chemical feedstocks. The carbon-containing residues can also be used as a carbon source. This study was proposed to study the feasibility and operation performance of plasma torch pyrolysis of biomass wastes, taking sunflower-oil cake as the target material. It was the biomass waste from the production process of biodiesel using sunflower seed. In the study, a plasma torch reactor was used for the pyrolysis of the sunflower-oil cake at different operating variables, such as temperature, input power, carrier gas, input mass, and reaction time. For the production of CO and H2 (syngas), the maximum accumulated mass fractions (or volume fractions) and the corresponding occurring temperatures are 93.17 wt % (51.17 vol %) of CO at 973 K and 8.21 wt % (56.13 vol %) of H2 at 1173 K, respectively. The yield of H2 increases with the increase of the temperature. At 873 K, CO and H2 have near equal volume fractions of 49.1 and 48.72 vol %, respectively. At 973 K, the reaction rate and syngas yield have the highest values and the yields of the pollutant have the lowest ones. Therefore, the optimum reaction condition should be controlled at 973 K or 14–22 kW of power. Further, the related literature was surveyed and reviewed. In summary, this study aims at the need to obtain useful information for converting the sunflower-oil cake to fuels or chemicals via the proposed plasma torch pyrolysis technique, which can provide appropriate use of bioenergy sources, such as biomass wastes, approaching the appeal to meet full recycling of biomass wastes and zero biomass wastes.