Jazrawi, C, Biller, P, Ross, AB et al. (3 more authors) (2013) Pilot plant testing of continuous hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae. Algal Research, 2 (3). 268 - 277. ISSN 2211-9264
Abstract
We describe a pilot plant for continuous hydrothermal processing of biomass. Results were obtained for two microalgae strains, Chlorella and Spirulina, across a range of biomass loadings (1-10. wt.%), temperatures (250-350 °C), residence times (3-5. min) and pressures (150-200. bar). Overall, the bio-crude yields were found to increase with higher biomass loading, higher temperature and longer residence time. More severe reaction conditions also reduced the oxygen content of the bio-crude, while the nitrogen content was found to increase with higher temperatures, indicating an increase in the bio-crude production from the protein fraction of the algae. The maximum bio-crude yield obtained was 41.7. wt.% for processing Chlorella with a solid loading of 10. wt.% at 350 °C and 3. min residence time. The present results suggest that maximal yields may be obtained in much shorter residence times under continuous flow hydrothermal processing than batch studies have suggested. The maximal yield, however, may not be optimal in terms of properties.A substantial fraction of the feedstock carbon reported to the aqueous phase - this was up to 60% but decreased to 30% at the highest biomass loadings. Gas production (>90mol% CO2) increased with severity of processing, reaching up to 5% of the feedstock carbon. Finally, the solid yields consistently decreased with increasing temperatures and residence times.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2013, Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Algal Research. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Algal Research, 2(3), 2013, 10.1016/j.algal.2013.04.006 |
Keywords: | Bio-crude; Hydrothermal upgrading; Process scaling |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) > Energy Research Institute (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Oct 2014 10:32 |
Last Modified: | 10 Oct 2014 11:06 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2013.04.006 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.algal.2013.04.006 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80447 |