Media configuration and recirculation of upflow anaerobic floating filter for piggery wastewater treatment

An upflow anaerobic floating filter media (UAFF) reactor was applied to the treatment of synthetic and real piggery wastewater. The effect of media configuration and internal recirculation on the system performance was studied. In the first experiment, three-UAFF reactors filled with different media, i.e., polypropylene beads, sponge cubes and coconut fiber were continuously fed with synthetic wastewater at upflow velocity of 0.04 m h⁻¹. The COD removal efficiency in the reactor filled with sponge cubes was highest at 90%, whereas the others filled with polypropylene beads and coconut fibers with lower specific surface area were about 80%. In the second experiment, three-UAFF reactors with sponge were applied to treat real piggery wastewater. COD removal efficiencies were found to be about 80% and methane production rate of 0.26 l l _r ⁻¹d⁻¹. The system performance could be slightly improved by 10% when applying internal recirculation. A sludge blanket (60–70% of total biomass) plays an important role in the system when applied to the treatment of piggery wastewater containing high suspended solid concentration.     

Effect of temperature on the performance of microbial fuel cells

Single and double chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were tested in batch mode at different temperatures ranging from 4 to 35 °C; results were analysed in terms of efficiency in soluble organic matter removal and capability of energy generation. Brewery wastewater diluted in domestic wastewater (initial soluble chemical oxygen demand of 1200 and 492 mg L⁻¹ of volatile suspended solids) was the source of carbon and inoculum for the experiments. Control reactors (sealed container with support for biofilm formation) as well as baseline reactors (sealed container with no support) were run in parallel to the MFCs at each temperature to assess the differences between water treatment including electrochemical processes and conventional anaerobic digestion (in the presence of a biofilm, or by planktonic cells). MFCs showed improvements regarding rate and extent of COD removal in comparison to control and baseline reactors at low temperatures (4, 8 and 15 °C), whilst differences became negligible at higher temperatures (20, 25, 30 and 35 °C). Temperature was a crucial factor in the yield of MFCs both, for COD removal and electricity production, with results that ranged from 58% final COD removal and maximum power of 15.1 mW m⁻³ reactor (8.1 mW m⁻² cathode) during polarization at 4 °C, to 94% final COD removal and maximum power of 174.0 mW m⁻³ reactor (92.8 mW m⁻² cathode) at 35 °C for single chamber MFCs with carbon cloth-based cathodes. Bioelectrochemical processes in these MFCs were found to have a temperature coefficient, Q10 of 1.6.A membrane-based cathode configuration was tested and gave promising results at 4 °C, where a maximum power output of 294.6 mW m⁻³ reactor (98.1 mW m⁻² cathode) was obtained during polarization and a maximum Coulombic efficiency (Y_Q) of 25% was achieved. This exceeded the performance at 35 °C with cloth-based cathodes (174.0 mW m⁻³; Y_Q 1.76%).     

Gas leakage measurements in a cold model of an interconnected fluidized bed for chemical-looping combustion

In chemical-looping combustion (CLC) a gaseous fuel is burnt with inherent separation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The oxygen is transported from the combustion air to the fuel by means of metal oxide particles acting as oxygen carriers. A CLC system can be designed similar to a circulating fluidized bed, but with the addition of a bubbling fluidized bed on the return side. Thus, the system consists of a riser (fast fluidized bed) acting as the air reactor. This is connected to a cyclone, where the particles and the gas from the air reactor are separated. The particles fall down into a second fluidized bed, the fuel reactor, and are via a fluidized pot-seal transported back into the riser. The gas leaving the air reactor consists of nitrogen and unreacted oxygen, while the reaction products, carbon dioxide and water, come out from the fuel reactor. The water can easily be condensed and removed, and the remaining carbon dioxide can be liquefied for subsequent sequestration.The gas leakage between the reactors must be minimized to prevent the carbon dioxide from being diluted with nitrogen, or to prevent carbon dioxide from leaking to the air reactor decreasing the efficiency of carbon dioxide capture. In this system, the possible gas leakages are: (i) from the fuel reactor to the cyclone and to the pot-seal, (ii) from the cyclone down to the fuel reactor, (iii) from the pot-seal to the fuel reactor. These gas leakages were investigated in a scaled cold model. A typical leakage from the fuel reactor was 2%, i.e. a CO₂ capture efficiency of 98%. No leakage was detected from the cyclone to the fuel reactor. Thus, all product gas from the air reactor leaves the system from the cyclone. A typical leakage from the pot-seal into the fuel reactor was 6%, which corresponds to 0.3% of the total air added to the system, and would give a dilution of the CO₂ produced by approximately 6% air. However, this gas leakage can be avoided by using steam, instead of air, to fluidize the whole, or part of, the pot-seal. The disadvantages of diluting the CO₂ are likely to motivate the use of steam.     

CFB air-blown flash pyrolysis. Part II: Operation and experimental results

The main operational characteristics of a novel gasifier operating in the CFB mode are outlined in this paper, based on the experimental results from a total of 11 runs in the pyrolysis mode. The operation runs constituted the main experiments in the CFB reactor, carried out to derive meaningful mass balance and additional operational data for the CFB pyrolyzer. The experiments were conducted in varying operating conditions determined by the most important parameters, i.e., biomass flowrate, fluidizing gas flowrate, air factor, initial bed inventory), temperature in the CFB riser, vapor residence time and nominal air factor – or equivalence ratio, S_b.The results obtained showed that the reactor configuration successfully operated as a biomass fast pyrolysis system to maximize liquid yields reaching 61.50 wt% on a maf biomass basis, with the novel feature of providing for autothermal operation at 500 °C and with 0.46 s gas–vapor residence time, by utilizing the by-product char energy content in a single reactor. The reactor provides a very high specific throughput of 1.12–1.48 kg/h m² and the lowest gas-to-feed ratio of 1.3–1.9 kg gas/kg feed compared to other fast pyrolysis processes based on pneumatic reactors and has a good scale-up potential, providing significant capital cost reduction. Results to date suggest that the process is limited by the extent of char combustion. Future work should address resizing of the char combustor to increase overall system capacity, improve the solid separation and substantially increase liquid recovery.     

Copper recovery and simultaneous COD removal from copper phthalocyanine dye effluent using bipolar disc reactor

Electrochemical treatment of real acidic effluent of copper phthalocyanine dye manufacturing plant with a view to explore the feasibility of the simultaneous removal of copper and phthalocyanine using a bipolar disc electrochemical reactor has been investigated. Experiments were conducted in a bipolar capillary gap disc stack electrochemical reactor under batch recirculation mode. Electrodes were RuO₂ and IrO₂ coated on titanium as anode and titanium as cathode. Effects of current density, electrolysis time and effluent flow rate on copper recovery and simultaneous COD removal and energy consumption were critically examined. The current density of 2.5 A dm⁻² and flow rate of 20 L h⁻¹ achieved 91.1% COD removal and 90.1% copper recovery with the energy consumption of 50.86 kWh kg⁻¹ for COD removal and simultaneous recovery of copper in a bipolar disc stack reactor.     

The effect of operational parameters on the performance of a bipolar trickle tower reactor

A bipolar trickle tower reactor (BTTR) (of 7.9 cm internal diameter and 75 cm length containing 57 layers, each layer having 30 carbon Raschig rings, each of 1.25 cm outside diameter) has been studied under a range of operational conditions. The batch recycle mode of operation has been used for the removal of Cu(II) ions (at an initial concentration of 50–200 ppm) from an acid sulfate solution (typically 3000 cm³) at 295 K. Non‐ideal flow and Peclet number values have been considered to establish the degree of deviation from ideal reactor flow models. Operational variables included the potential difference per layer (1.0–3.0 V), volumetric flow rate (8.3–50 cm³ s^?1) and the effect of H₂SO₄ concentration (which increased conductivity and lowered pH) in the electrolyte. The reactor has been shown to be best suited to the treatment of a moderately high reactant concentration (eg 100–200 ppm) and low electrolyte conductivity. The final concentration can be as low as a few parts per million but the performance of the reactor (as judged by the current efficiency and the rate of concentration decay) markedly decreased as the dissolved metal ion concentration fell. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Simultaneous removal of organic substances and nitrogen using amembrane bioreactor seeded with anaerobic granular sludge under oxygen-limited conditions

An innovative process, the oxygen-limited membrane bioreactor seeded with anaerobic granular sludge, wasproposed and its performance investigated for concurrent removal of organic substances and nitrogen from synthetic domestic wastewaters. An air diffuser was installed just above the granular sludge bed to supply air to the reactor at an intermittent mode. The internal recycle from the upper part of the reactor to the bottom was introduced to provide the granular sludge bed under the oxygen-limited conditions. The oxygen addition rates were controlled at 3-4 g O₂ 1⁻¹d⁻¹. The total COD removal efficiency of more than 94% was achieved throughout the whole operation period. N was removed through the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process that took place in the granular sludge bed. TN levels decreased with the decrease of ammonium levels, indicating that nitrification was the rate-limiting step. The TN removal efficiency reached 80-91% at an hydraulic retention time of 15 h. Nitrate was scarcely detected and nitrite was the main NO_x-N species in the effluent, indicating that nitrite oxidizers were inhibited in the system.     

基于赤铁矿载氧体的煤化学链燃烧试验

化学链燃烧是一种具有CO₂内分离特性的燃烧方式。以赤铁矿为载氧体,在1 kW_th级串行流化床上进行了煤化学链燃烧试验。讨论了燃料反应器温度对气体产物组分的影响;比较了各反应参数对煤气化效率、煤气化产物的转化效率及碳捕集效率的影响情况,分析了煤中硫的排放问题。试验结果表明：温度由900℃升高到985℃,燃料反应器中CO体积份额逐渐增加,CO₂体积份额逐渐减小,空气反应器中CO₂浓度呈线性下降。燃料反应器温度的升高促进煤气化效率及碳捕集效率大大提高。载氧体量和系统负荷是煤气化产物转化效率的主要影响因素,载氧体量的增加和负荷的增加分别会使煤气化产物转化效率提高和下降。燃料反应器中的硫主要以SO₂形式存在于燃料反应器,随温度的升高,SO₂浓度由515×10^-6逐渐增加到562×10^-6相似文献   

Electrochemical degradation of pulp and paper industry waste‐water

BACKGROUND: Conventional biological waste‐water treatment techniques are insufficient to degrade large quantities of dissolved lignin discharged by small‐scale paper mills. The current investigation is aimed at comparing the overall performance of basic electrochemical reactor configurations such as batch, batch recirculation, recycle and single pass systems, in removing the organic part of waste‐water from a small‐scale, agro‐based paper industry. The effect of current density, supporting electrolyte concentration, duration of electrolysis, specific electrode surface and fluid flow rate on the removal of pollutants and energy consumption are critically evaluated. The improvement in biodegradability of the effluent during treatment is also noticed. RESULTS: The batch recirculation mode of operation was found to be superior in comparison with a batch system using the same specific electrode surface for both COD removal (73.3 vs. 64%) and capacity utilization (rate constant 1.112 × 10^?3 vs. 1.049 × 10^?3 cm s^?1). The pollutant removal performance of the batch recirculation system improved considerably with increase in the circulation flow rate. At the best operating point in the recycle system, 59% of COD was removed, corresponding to a current efficiency of 68.9% and specific energy consumption of 18.46 kWh kg^?1. The biodegradability index of the waste‐water was improved from 0.18 ± 0.01 to 0.36 ± 0.01. CONCLUSION: A recycle reactor was the best configuration, because of its flexibility of operation. Circulation flow rate and withdrawal flow rate enable the control of transfer coefficients and treatment duration respectively. Electrochemical treatment not only removes the bulk of the organic matter, but also makes the remaining pollutants more easily biodegradable. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

FEED-FORWARD BACK-PROPAGATION NEURAL NETWORK FOR THE ELECTRO-OXIDATION OF DISTILLERY EFFLUENT

The aim of the present work is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of treating high-strength distillery wastewater in an electrochemical flow reactor and to predict the result using an artificial neural network (ANN) model. The experiments were conducted using oxide coated on expanded titanium (Ti/Ru_0.3Ti_0.7O₂) as anode and stainless steel as cathode in a batch reactor with electrolytic recirculation. Pollutant degradation was measured as chemical oxygen demand (COD) for various operating parameters such as effluent flow rate, current density, and supporting electrolyte concentration. Experiments were conducted for various flow rates, supporting electrolyte concentrations, and current density. An ANN was used for modeling the experimental results. The model was developed using a feed-forward back-propagation network with different layers and neurons. It can be concluded that the network configuration of 3-3-3-1 simulation gives the best result in predicting the experimental results with a high correlation coefficient (R ² = 0.9987). Using this network model, the effluent COD removal can be predicted quickly and easily.     

Production of hydrogen and syngas via gasification of the corn and wheat dry distiller grains (DDGS) in a fixed-bed micro reactor

Production of hydrogen and syngas via gasification of the corn and wheat dry distiller grains (DDGS) with oxygen in a continuous downflow fixed bed micro reactor are studied in this paper. A series of experiments have been performed to investigate the effects of reaction time (15–45 min), reactor temperature (700–900 °C) and oxygen to nitrogen ratio (0.08–0.2 vol./vol.) on product gas composition, gas yield, low heating value (LHV) and carbon conversion efficiency. Over the ranges of the experimental conditions used, the results obtained seemed to suggest that for both biomasses the operating conditions were optimized for a gasification temperature around 900 °C, an oxygen to nitrogen ratio of 0.08 and a reaction time of 30 min, because a gas richer in hydrogen and carbon monoxide and poorer in carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons. The results showed that the product gas of corn DDGS gasification has higher H₂ and CO concentrations (11 and 56.5%) than that of wheat DDGS gasification (10.5 and 51.5%). In addition gasification of corn DDGS resulted to higher gas yield (0.42 m³/kg), LHV (10.65 MJ/m³) and carbon conversion efficiency (44.2%).     

Analysis of carbon dioxide-to-methanol direct electrochemical conversion mediated by an ionic liquid

An intensified process for carbon dioxide capture and conversion is proposed and analyzed, considering an electrochemical parallel plate reactor which processes a CO₂-charged stream from an absorption unit at 40 °C and atmospheric pressure and where the target product of the conversion is methanol.The task-specific ionic liquid 1-(3-aminopropyl)-3-methylimidazolium bromide was selected, synthesized and characterized. This ionic liquid has shown a good absorption capacity, high ionic conductivity, high chemical–electrochemical stability and acts as a charged intermediate (CO₂^*−) stabilizer, enabling the electrochemical reduction of absorbed CO₂.The electrical energy in the electrochemical reactor was estimated to be 8.683 kWh kg (CO₂)⁻¹ or 115.16 g (CO₂) kWh⁻¹, too high to ensure the environmental sustainability of the process. A low concentration of carbon dioxide in the liquid phase, at ambient conditions, implies the need for a high electrode area for the process and is a major hindrance to improving the economy of the process.     

Effect of pre‐treatments based on UV photocatalysis and photo‐oxidation on toluene biofiltration performance

BACKGROUND: The integration of UV photocatalysis and biofiltration seems to be a promising combination of technologies for the removal of hydrophobic and poorly biodegradable air pollutants. The influence of pre‐treatments based on UV_{254 nm} photocatalysis and photo‐oxidation on the biofiltration of toluene as a target compound was evaluated in a controlled long‐term experimental study using different system configurations: a standalone biofilter, a combined UV photocatalytic reactor‐biofilter, and a combined UV photo‐oxidation reactor (without catalyst)‐biofilter. RESULTS: Under the operational conditions used (residence time of 2.7 s and toluene concentrations 600–1200 mg C m^?3), relatively low removal efficiencies (6–3%) were reached in the photocatalytic reactor and no degradation of toluene was found when the photo‐oxidation reactor was operated without catalyst. A noticeable improvement in the performance of the biofilter combined with a photocatalytic reactor was observed, and the elimination capacity of the biological process increased by more than 12 g C h^?1 m^?3 at the inlet loads studied of 50–100 g C h^?1 m^?3. No positive effect on toluene removal was observed for the combination of UV photoreactor and biofilter. CONCLUSIONS: Biofilter pre‐treatment based on UV_{254 nm} photocatalysis showed promising results for the removal of hydrophobic and recalcitrant air pollutants, providing synergistic improvement in the removal of toluene. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Electro-oxidation of benzene in a fixed bed reactor

A fixed bed electrochemical reactor was used in the laboratory to oxidize benzene to quinone. The reactor consisted of a 3 mm thick bed of 1 mm lead shot, 0.5 m long by 0.05 m wide, sandwiched between a lead feeder plate and an asbestos diaphragm which was compressed against a stainless steel cathode plate. A dispersion of benzene in aqueous sulphuric acid was passed through the reactor and the rates of production of quinone, hydroquinone, carbon dioxide, oxygen and hydrogen, together with the cell voltage and pressure drop, were obtained for a range of operating conditions.Concentrations of quinone in the benzene product varied from 0.04 to 0.31 M and current efficiencies for quinone were in the range 22 to 55%. In a single pass of 1 M acid and benzene through the reactor at 25° C the quinone efficiency fell from 53% to 39% as the average superficial current density increased from 0.4 to 2.0 kA m^–2. At an average superficial current density of 2.0 kA m^–2 the quinone efficiency decreased with an increase in process temperature (25 to 50° C), but increased with increases in acid concentration (1 to 4 M), acid flow (0.5 to 1.0 cm³ s^–1), benzene flow (0.05 to 10 cm³ s^–1) and co-current nitrogen gas flow (0 to 32 cm³ s^–1 at STP). Recycling the 4 M sulphuric acid at 25° C raised the concentration of quinone in the product benzene but decreased the net current efficiency for quinone. Corresponding changes were observed in the cell voltage and in the current efficiencies for hydroquinone, carbon dioxide and oxygen. The results are discussed in terms of the process stoichiometry, electrode kinetics and mass transfer for three-phase flow in a fixed bed reactor.Nomenclature A Acid flow - a ₁ Liquid/liquid specific interfacial area - a _s Liquid/solid specific interfacial area - B Benzene flow - d ₃₂ Sauter mean drop diameter - d _P Particle diameter - E Current efficiency - F Faraday number - I Total current - i _l Superficial transfer-limited current density - K Liquid/liquid distribution coefficient - k _c Liquid/liquid mass transfer coefficient in continuous phase - k _s Liquid/solid mass transfer coefficient - L _c Superficial liquid load — continuous phase - L _d Superficial liquid load — disperse phase - Q _A Quinone concentration in aqueous phase - V ⁰ Standard electrode potential - z Number of electrons per equivalent     

CFD simulation of dilute phase gas-solid riser reactors: part II—simultaneous adsorption of SO2-NOx from flue gases

Simultaneous adsorption of SO₂-NO_x in a riser configuration is a novel route for flue gas cleaning. The riser operates at a low flux of small diameter Na-γ-Al₂O₃ sorbent particles. The reaction scheme is adopted from previous work (Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 40 (2001) 119), without adjusting any of the kinetic parameters. The significant concentration gradient between the gas and solid phase mainly arises from the low solid fraction (typically 5×10⁻⁴) in the riser. Enhancing the fluctuating kinetic motion of gas and solid phase increases the SO₂ adsorption, whereas the NO adsorption is decreased marginally. The solid recirculation in the top section of the riser, induced by the abrupt T outlets, significantly decreases the NO and NO₂ removal, while the SO₂ removal remains mostly unaffected. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid recirculation for a maximum NO_x removal. A comparison of the 3D and a 1D model shows that higher SO₂ and NO removal efficiencies are predicted by the 3D model in the major part of the riser. However, these positive effects are largely neutralized by the negative effects of the outlet-induced recirculation, resulting in similar overall removal efficiencies calculated by the two models. Unlike the 1D model, the 3D simulation shows a considerable axial variation in the solid fraction and slip velocity. The 3D simulation also allows to calculate the effects of outlet geometry on the flow and reaction fields. The reactor efficiency can be improved by modifying the outlet configuration to minimize the recirculation.     

Off-flavor removal from soy-protein isolate by using liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide

The efficacy of liquid carbon dioxide (L-CO₂), supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂), and SC-CO₂ containing 5% ethanol in the removal of off-flavors from soybean protein isolate was studied. Medium-chain aldehydes:n-butanal,n-pentanal, andn-hexanal; ketones: 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone; and alcohols: 1-butanol and 2-butanol; were the major compounds extracted. The extractions were performed at a constant fluid density of 901 kg/m³ with 100, 500, and 1000 standard liter of carbon dioxide. None of the treatments had a detrimental effect on soy-protein functionality. Headspace gas chromatography (GC) and sensory analysis of the treated samples were compared with the untreated soy isolate (control). In general, L-CO₂ was the least effective, and SC-CO₂ was the most effective in removing the off-flavor volatiles. Addition of ethanol as an entrainer did not improve the efficiency of off-flavor removal by SC-CO₂. The results of sensory analysis correlated well with the GC analysis. Sensory analysis of a 33% (wt/vol) slurry of treated soy-protein isolate had more off-flavor notes than the dry soy isolate. Dry and slurried treated soy-protein isolates had significantly less off-flavors and significantly more acceptability than the untreated control.     

A combined photocatalytic slurry reactor–immersed membrane module system for advanced wastewater treatment

Photocatalysis with titanium dioxide semiconductor catalyst can effectively degrade recalcitrant organic pollutants present in biologically treated sewage effluents. Focusing on process efficiency and sustainability within a broader program, this study presents results obtained with a bench-scale hybrid treatment system. The process train comprised of a slurry (suspension) type continuous photocatalytic (CP) system and an immersed hollow fibre membrane micro-ultrafilter (MF/UF) unit. The CP reactor charged with 1 g/L P-25 catalyst removed 63% dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from a synthetic wastewater (representing biologically treated sewage effluent). The addition of 0.05 g/L of powdered activated carbon (PAC) increased DOC removal up to 76%. The start-up times to achieve 60% DOC removal were 31 min and 15 min, respectively. These results show a 16 times improvement in volumetric load over a comparable batch reactor system used in previous studies by our group.Slurry type photocatalytic reactors need subsequent particle separation to retain the catalyst in the system and allow the discharge of treated effluent. The immersed membrane module accomplished this without prior slurry settling step. Membrane feed pre-treatment with pH adjustment and particle charge neutralisation with aluminium chloride coagulant led to improved critical membrane fluxes, 15.25 L/m² h and 19.05 L/m² h, respectively. In each experiment MF/UF produced near zero turbidity permeate, completely retained the photocatalyst, and flocculation also improved the efficiency of DOC removal. Membrane fouling was controlled by particle aggregation rather than feed DOC levels, but the latter had significant impact on coagulant demand. The complete treatment train achieved up to 92% DOC reduction with 12 mg/L AlCl₃ dosage using in-line coagulation conditions. The results show that in-line coagulation offers a simple yet effective means to improve the performance of slurry type photocatalytic–MF/UF hybrid systems for advanced water and wastewater treatment applications.     

Aerobic biological treatment of waste‐ waters containing dichloromethane

BACKGROUND: Volatilization has been advanced as one of the predominant phenomena contributing to volatile organic carbon emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, strategies for minimizing such air stripping losses when treating a liquid stream containing dichloromethane (DCM), aiming at decreasing the overall emission inventory from WWTPs, were investigated. RESULTS: System R1, consisting of a continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR) treating a liquid stream containing DCM at a concentration of 12 mmol dm^?3 presented a biodegradation efficiency (BE) of 68%, based upon chloride release, with 10% of measurable losses, mainly due to volatilization, and 22% of unmeasurable losses. System R2 introduced operational designs aiming at decreasing DCM volatilization. In Experiment R2.1, a biotrickling filter, through which the air stripped from the CSTR was driven, was introduced leading to a reduction from 10% to 7% on the measurable losses. In Experiment R2.2, the air stripped from the CSTR was recirculated at a flow rate of 2.4 dm³ h^?1 through the reactor medium before entering the biotrickling filter. The BE was improved from 69% to 82% and the losses associated with air stripping were successfully reduced to 2%. The proposed design, including air recirculation and the biotrickling filter, increased the ratio between the biodegradation rate and the volatilization rate from 7 to 41. CONCLUSIONS: Recirculation of the gaseous effluent through the reactor medium, which allowed for higher residence time within the bioreactor, was shown to be a successful strategy for improving the treatment process, thus minimizing DCM volatilization losses. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Low-tar,highly burnable gas production from the gasification of pelletized palm empty fruit bunch

Gasification is an attractive method to convert lignocellulosic biomass into a combustible gas mixture for electricity and power generation. To control the tar concentration in the produced gas to be within the allowable limit of downstream applications, it is important for a gasification system to be integrated with a tar removal process. In this study, an integrated gasification system consisting of a downdraft gasifier and a secondary catalytic tar-cracking reactor was designed and tested for the gasification of pelletized oil palm empty fruit bunch. To further purify the producer gas, the system was also integrated with a cyclone, a water scrubber, and a carbon-bed filter. Biomass was fed at a rate of 5 kg/h, while the air equivalence ratio (ER) and the gasification temperature were set at 0.1 and 800°C, respectively. In total, 5 kg of the specially developed low-cost Fe/activated carbons (AC) catalyst was used in the hot gas catalytic tar-cracking reactor. Results indicate that our integrated gasification system was able to produce a clean burnable gas with a lower heating value (LHV) of 9.05 MJ/Nm³, carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) of 79.4%, cold gas efficiency (CGE) of 89.9%, and H₂ and CH₄ concentrations of 29.5% and 10.3%, respectively. The final outlet gas was found to only contain 32.5 mg/Nm³ of tar, thus making it suitable for internal combustion engine (ICE) application.     

The effect of pressurized carbon dioxide as a plasticizer and foaming agent on the hot melt extrusion process and extrudate properties of pharmaceutical polymers

The aim of the current research project was to explore the possibilities of combining pressurized carbon dioxide with hot melt extrusion of polyvinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate 64, Eudragit^® E100 and ethylcellulose 20 cps, to evaluate the ability of the pressurized gas to act as a temporary plasticizer as well as to produce a foamed polymeric material. Pressurized carbon dioxide was injected into a Leistritz Micro 18 intermeshing co-rotating twin-screw melt extruder using an ISCO 260D syringe pump. The physicochemical characteristics of the polymers before and after injection of carbon dioxide were evaluated using MDSC, dissolution measurements, specific surface area measurements, porosity, dynamic vapour sorption and microscopy. An extruder set up and screw configuration were configured and optimized for injection of pressurized CO₂. Carbon dioxide acted as plasticizer for all three polymers, reducing the processing temperature during the hot melt extrusion process. The specific surface area and the porosity of the polymers was increased after treatment with carbon dioxide, resulting in enhanced dissolution. The macroscopic morphology was changed to a foam-like structure due to expansion of the carbon dioxide at the extrusion die. This resulted in improved milling efficiency.