| Grant number: | 12/50718-2 |
| Support type: | Regular Research Grants |
| Duration: | June 01, 2013 - October 31, 2015 |
| Field of knowledge: | Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Process Engineering of Agricultural Products |
| Cooperation agreement: | CNPq - First Projects Program |
| Principal Investigator: | Juliana Tófano de Campos Leite Toneli |
| Grantee: | Juliana Tófano de Campos Leite Toneli |
| Home Institution: | Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas (CECS). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil |
Abstract
The use of biomass energy conversion processes is, nowadays, one of the main alternatives to fossil fuels. In this context, the energy recovery from waste materials is a possible use for biomass as an energy source, which does not compete with food crops for planted area. Amongst the main limitations for using biomass for energy purposes, some relevant characteristics should be mentioned: low density, dispersed generation, moisture presence and the fact that it is a solid, making its handling, storage, transport and application in energy conversion processes much harder, due to equipment limitations. A solution to these problems is the biomass densification, through the production of pellets or briquettes. The present work aims the study of the physicochemical properties of residual biomass from the sugarcane sector, when subjected to different conditions of pre-processing. Therefore, the effect of moisture content and processing conditions on the properties of briquettes produced from cane bagasse will be evaluated, using the residual biomass assembled after the dry cleaning process of mechanically chopped cane (MCC) and of blends of bagasse with MCC, aiming their energetic use in cogeneration industrial processes. The effect of these properties on the densification process for briquettes production will also be studied, since that the use of densified biomass reduces the costs of transport and storage, besides of improving the combustion efficiency. Aiming this, the following properties will be determined: ultimate and proximate composition, low heating value, real and apparent densities, moisture content, heavy metals content and particle size. The knowledge of physical, chemical and thermodynamical properties of biomass is essential to define the best Processing conditions, especially when aiming an efficient energy use. (AU)