Wood Residues
Source of Residue Type of Residue
Forest operations Branches, needles, leaves, stumps, roots,
low grade and decayed wood, slashings and
sawdust
Pulp industry, Sawmilling Bark, sawdust, trimmings, split wood,
and planning planer shavings
Plywood production Bark, core, sawdust, veneer clippings and
waste, panel trim, sanderdust
Particleboard production Bark, screening fines, panel trim, sawdust,
sanderdust
Wood Wastes Packing material, old wooden furniture,
wooden building waste (demolition wood)
Estimated potential of Wood Residues
in the World
Overall quantity of WR ~ 2,000 MT/y or ~
650 MTOE/y to compare with
7,000 MT/y of Forest biomass or 2 230
MTOE/y
WR ~ 30% of potential Forest Biomass
Wood Residues vs “Clean Wood”
Overall quantity of WR: 16 MT / year to compare with
o ~ 23 MT / Year of processed wood (5 MT/y imported)
o ~ 40 MT / Year of Wood biologically produced by the
forest
o ~ 20 MT / Year of Fuel Wood (estimated) with 80%
domestic consumption
WR represent an important source of Biomass (5.5
MTOE)…but is scattered!
WR corresponds only to 6% of the oil consumption (96
MT/y)
Biomass upgrading into Energy or Chemicals
Co-combustion
Electricity
Heat
Direct
Biomass
Combustion
Fuel cells SNG
DME
H2
Gasification Engine
Pyrolysis Turbine Fischer Tropsch
hydrocarbons
Alcohols
Direct N/A ? Methanol
Liquefaction Ethanol
Bio-fuel
Bioprocesses N/A ?
Overview of “Wood thermal Processes”
Wood
(Co) combustion Direct Liquefaction Pyrolysis Gasification
slow Atmospheric or pressurized
H2O, critical conditions, fast, flash O2, air, H2O
Hydro liquefaction (H2)
High Pressure
Flue gas char Direct Indirect
Liquid biomass oil heating Heating
Heavy bio-oil gas
syngas
Upgrading treatment
Engine or Turbine Synthesis/cleaning
Heat and Electricity Bio-fuels Charcoal
CH3OH, CnHm, H2
Operating conditions of the thermal processes
Thermal Process Temperature Atmosphere Products Mean
overall
Yield
Combustion > 900°C O2 (air) CO2 + H2O + N2 ~ 65 %
+ ashes to be treated
Pyrolysis < 500°C Inert gas or char + tars + gas, which ~ 45 %
Low pressure proportions are related to
the pyrolysis parameters
Gasification by > 700°C Inert gas or Mainly gas (CO, H2, CH4, ~ 75 %
Fast pyrolysis Low pressure C2H4 …) with low quantity of
char used
Gasification > 800°C Air or H2O Gas (H2, CO, CO2, CH4, N2) 50-60 %
vapour + ashes to be treated
Liquefaction by < 550°C Low pressure High viscosity liquid (phenols) ~ 75 %
Fast Pyrolysis
Direct 300°C- 350°C CO High High viscosity liquid (phenols) ~ 80 %
Liquefaction Slurry in water pressure non soluble in water
Pyrolysis is the Key Reaction of
all the thermal Processes
WOOD
Cutting or Grinding
Drying
Pyrolysis
Combustion Gasification Liquefaction Charcoal making Heated Wood
Mechanism of the pyrolysis
P rim a ry d e g ra d a tio n S e c o n d a ry d e g ra d a tio n
a c id s , a c e to l,
C h a r, H 2 O ,
fu rfu ra l, la c to n s ,
CO ,CO 2
h yd ro xya c e ta ld e h yd e
fra g m e n ta tio n ,
d e c a rb o n yla tio n (C O ),
lo w T h ig h T d e h yd ra tio n (H 2 O )
H O LO C E LLU LO S E
d e p o lym e riza tio n S e c o n d a ry
d e g ra d a tio n
tra n s g lic o s ila tio n
le vo g lu c o s a n
a n d s u g a rs
S e c o n d a ry
h ig h T d e g ra d a tio n
p h e n o ls , C a rb o n yl
L IG N IN m e th o xyp h e n o ls (g u a ia c o ls ), c o m p o u n d s,
d im e th o xyp h e n o ls (s yrin g o ls ) fu ra n s , p h e n o ls ,
lo w T d e p o lym e riza tio n CO ,CO 2
C h a r, C O , C
O2
Operating conditions of the pyrolysis process
PAH
PAH: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
To lower the PAH’s
Naphtalene, Anthracene, Pyrene, Benzopyrene ……
which are formed during the pyrolysis step of the
thermal conversion, it is compulsory:
to decrease the Residence Time
to increase the Temperature
when it is possible!
1. Introduction
2. Pyrolysis
3. Gasification
4. Carbonisation
5. Liquefaction
6. Conclusion
Possible applications of the Product Gas
co-combustion in a coal power plant
co-combustion in a natural gas power plant without
modifications at the burners
production of electric energy in a gas turbine
production of electric energy in a gas engine
production of electric energy in a fuel cell
as synthesis gas in the chemical industry
as reduction gas in the steel industry
for direct reduction of iron ore
for production of Synthetic Natural Gas by methanation
for production of Liquid Fuels by Fischer-Tropsch
Main Reactions
Wood (Pyrolysis) C slightly endothermic
C + O2 CO2 (ΔH0= -391,6 kJ mol-1) exothermic
C + H2O CO+H2 (ΔH0 = + 131,79 kJ mol-1) endothermic
C + CO2 2 CO (ΔH0 = + 179,3 kJ mol-1) endothermic
CO + H2O CO2 + H2 (ΔH0 = - 47,49 kJ mol-1) slightly
exothermic
C + 2H2 CH4 (ΔH0= - 22 kJ mol-1) slightly exothermic
With the operating parameters (Pressure, Temperature) it is
possible to select a gas containing more Syngas (CO+H2) or
more SNG (CH4)
Main kinds of
Reactors for
Gasification
Updraft and Downdraft
reactors have been
developed since ~ 1930.
They produce a low BTU
Gas (~ 6000 KJ/m3) with
tars.
Actually the new systems
use mainly fluidized beds
and circulating fluidized
beds….but they are often
too complicated energy
output < energy in put!
Circulating Fluidized Bed
Advantages of Gasification by fast Pyrolysis
in a Circulating Fluidized Bed System
• product gas nearly free of nitrogen
• calorific value higher than 13 MJ/Nm³
• very low tar content due to steam gasification
• gas quality is independent of water content in biomass feed
• now, the apparatus are compact……not enough!
• a wide range of feedstock can be gasified
• possibility to use a catalyst as bed material (regeneration
of catalyst in combustion zone) to influence the gas
composition and gasification kinetic in a more positive way
• But sometimes energy output < energy input!
Circulating Fluidized Beds
Numerous systems
have been developed
since 1980:
- KUNII
- FERCO
- Our (TNEE)
- RENET (Güssing)
- ………….
Example: FERCO (Battelle)
We have an old expertise in wood
gasification in dual fluidized bed
pyrolysis, until the pilot scale
A pilot with a capacity of 500Kg/H
pine barks was operating in a pulp mill
in 1984/1985.
Its power was around 2 MW
and it produces a medium BTU Gas
(HHV around 16000 KJ/m3)
fumées
(950°C)
cyclone
dépoussièreur
gaz de pyrolyse caloporteur
(850°C) (950°C) lit transporté
de combustion
(950°C)
bois
char + caloporteur
lit en pyrolyse
( ~ 800°C)
gaz de pyrolyse
recyclé (300 - 400°C)
20 Years later….always the same process developed in the
RENET Biomass Power Station, Güssing, Austria (Schematic layout)
Photos of the RENET Pilot
which start in Austria in 2001
Circulating Fluidized Bed with CO2 Absorber
Complete Syngas Process
Flue Gas Fly Ash Wet Shift CO2
removal scrubber Reactor elimination
Heat
Exchangers Gas
compression
Catalyst
heat Water treatment &
carrier steam production unit
Combustor Gasifier Synthesis
Gas
Bottom Ash
Extraction
Air
Steam Dried
Biomass
Optimum Capacity of Gasification Processes
1 kW 10 kW 100 kW 1 MW 10 MW 100 MW 1000 MW
Updraft
Downdraft
Fluidised Bed
Circulating Fluidised
Bed
Pressurised fluidised
Bed
0,2 kg/h 2 kg/h 20 kg/h 200 kg/h 2 t/h 20 t/h 200 t/h
10t/h could be a great maximum for RW
To solve the problem of capacity, it is necessary to
have a pre-treatment process producing a char from
different kinds of biomass, which could be then
transformed at a larger scale.
Such a system is proposed for the production of
Hydrogen from Biomass
The Philosophy of this two step process could be
adapted, as the optimum input feed of the
gasification must be over 10T/H
