Valorization of agro-industrial residues using thermochemical processing for energy generation

Abstract

Agro-industries and the supply and distribution chain produced globally a large amount of residues. If these residues are released to the environment, without proper disposal or recycling procedure, they cause environmental pollution and harmful effects on human and animal health. Most of the agro-industrial residues are untreated or underutilized; consequently, in maximum, they are disposed either by burning, dumping or unplanned landfilling. An attractive alternative for the exploitation the agro-industrial residues is to use them as energy sources for the decentralized production of heat and electricity by installing low and medium capacity gasifiers, integrated to internal combustion engines or micro gas turbines fueled with producer gas. However, this alternative is hindering by the broad spectrum of physical-chemical properties of agro-industrial residues, mainly deposited as mixtures of agriculture residues. The joint project proposes to face this challenge acting over the medullary points of the problem, bringing an integral technology for the valorization of agro-industrial residues using thermochemical processing for energy generation in heat machines, applying the expertise of participating researchers of a bi-national team. The project proposes a methodology for upgrading the combustible properties of agro-industrial residues, describes the fluid-dynamic behavior of the upgraded agro-industrial residue mixtures in a fluidized bed reactor, identifies the operational parameters for its efficient gasification in fluidized bed, and characterizes the combustion process of producer gas from gasification of these residues mixtures with an assessment the effect of the use of hydrogen as its flame modulator. Finally the ecological-energetic impact of the implementation of the gasification of residues for electrical and thermal energy generation will be assessed, by using the production gas in heat machines. (AU)