Adaptation of a catalytic reform reactor to block the cracking of organic gases in biomass thermo-conversion process

• Grant number: 17/18401-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2017
• End date: October 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Maria Regina Wolf Maciel
• Grantee: Daniel Santos Fernandes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/20630-4 - Biorefinery development integrated to a bioethanol sugar cane plant with zero CO2 emission: routes to convert renewable resources to bio-products and bio-electricity, AP.TEM

Abstract

The recent economic crisis in Brazil and the decrease in ethanol exports have made Brazil to face some problems in the world scenario of fuels. China and USA have been promoting bioethanol production, forcing Brazil to look for new production routes for other fuels and ethanol itself. The still deficient 2nd Generation Ethanol production does not have the capacity to fit the external market and presents technological bottlenecks, and the same applies to energy cogeneration because it does not add value to the final product. The thermochemical routes, rising in Central Europe, have been a good bet for Brazil due to its low cost. The three possible products (bio-oil, biochar, and syngas) have higher added value, being more attractive for both domestic and export markets. Among these products, bio-oil has been shown to be the most sensible choice, despite presenting challenges after its production. Consequently, this scientific initiation project seeks to improve the stage after its production (in a fluidized bed reactor) in a gasification pilot plant, which has been adapted for pyrolysis process, according to the master's degree project (FAPESP process 2016/18546-8). After bio-oil production, only the steam reforming process will be studied and modified in order to prevent the cracking of organic gases, in an attempt to improve the bio-oil recovery. Therefore, this work will be carried out concomitantly with the mentioned master's degree project, since it is a part of the whole technology that has been developed. (AU)