Physical-chemical and thermophysical characterization of orange bagasse and sugarcane blends aiming at their energetic use in thermal systems

• Grant number: 23/09908-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Agreement: Secretaria de Meio Ambiente, Infraestrutura e Logística - Fundação Florestal
• Principal Investigator: Ana Maria Pereira Neto
• Grantee: Luana Maria Tavares Rosa
• Host Institution: Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas (CECS). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/02654-7 - Energy recovery of residues from the Brazilian citrus sector, AP.BIOEN.R

Abstract

The use of waste as an energy source is an opportunity to diversify the fuels used in the industrial sector, in addition to contributing to the energy transition to a low-carbon economy and enabling actions to decarbonize technological routes for converting raw materials. The industrial processing of oranges generates significant amounts of residues such as bagasse, which represents about 50% of the total mass of the fruit, ranging from 40 to 60%. Alternatives to its destination, in addition to its use in ruminant diets, should be encouraged due to the amount generated in processing. The 2019/20 Brazilian harvest produced 15.8 million tons of oranges in the citrus belt of São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Mineiro and 6.65 million tons of bagasse. In this sense, this plan of activities proposes the physical-chemical and thermophysical characterization of orange bagasse (pressed pulp) and sugarcane blends, with a view to their energy recovery in thermal systems of industrial units, since the citrus sector already uses sugarcane bagasse in boilers to obtain process steam. However, there are industrial units that use other types of non-renewable fuels in the steam generation process (fuel oil, diesel oil and natural gas), promoting negative externalities to the enterprise. Therefore, the blends are proposed to estimate the combustible potential of the residues and evaluate the influence on the thermophysical properties, in order to prospect the energy use of orange bagasse in alternative conversion routes. The use of pressed pulp as a complementary fuel could become a promising alternative to meet the energy demand of the industrial plant, reducing the costs of acquiring sugarcane bagasse, promoting resource savings and establishing a new applicability to waste of citrus sector, in addition to impact in the management and disposal of orange bagasse. (AU)