Preliminary study of application of submerged aquatic plants for the production of liquid biofuels

• Grant number: 19/12361-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2020
• End date: June 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Thermal Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Claudia Gonçalves de Azevedo
• Grantee: Ruan Vitor Cortelassi da Cruz
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rosana. Rosana , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The continuous increase in energy demand and the lack of supply to supply current needs raise interest in the search for new sources of energy, as well as the development of new technologies to generate alternative fuels that can attend the current society demands. In this context, biomass plays an important role in the development of sustainable energy because of its abundant availability, as well as being completely renewable and inexpensive. The biomass liquefaction process has proven to be a very promising method in terms of sustainability. The method consists to transform the biomass in the form of large and small solids into bio-oil which can be used as liquid biofuel. The aquatic plants play an important role in water systems, however, the excessive increase of these plants impairs the generation of energy in Hydroelectric power stations, since the accumulation of plants in the grids leads to a decrease in water captation through the turbine as well as to a greater pressure on the grids, which may deform or even break them, making interruption of the operation of the generating unit inevitable. The Reservoir of the Hydroelectric Power Plant Sérgio Motta Hydroelectric Power Plant (Porto Primavera) has major problems regarding to the infestation of submerged aquatic plants which affects the efficiency of power generation. Therefore, the present work aims to conduct a preliminary study on the solvolysis liquefaction process for the use of submerged aquatic plants for the production of liquid biofuels in order to propose the use of a new energy source, as well as to solve the a problem related to the large number of submerged aquatic plants that compromise the generation of electric energy. (AU)