Energy valorization of woody residues through heat treatment

• Grant number: 06/04045-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2007
• End date: April 30, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Technology and Use of Forest Products
• Principal Investigator: José Otávio Brito
• Grantee: Giana Estela de Andrade Almeida Perré
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Nowadays, the search of new sources of renewable and less polluting energy than petroleum became essential. The use of biomass as energy source is extremely important, especially due to its renewable character and abundance. Forest and agricultural residues are an important source of biomass, nevertheless its heterogeneity and the use of less efficient techniques of transformation provides some problems for its use for energy proposes. Techniques that give a better control of the biomass transformation will provide important socio-economical outcomes. The heat treatment is an interesting process, which improves the physical characteristics and concentrates the energy of the final product in a short time, low heating rate and moderate temperature. The main objective of the present project is the energetic valorization of wood residues by heat treatment. This project proposes a study of the heat treatment process at different final temperatures and oxygen concentrations, a profound characterization of the wood residues properties (before and after treatment) and a mathematical modelization of this process. This project is part of collaboration between important Brazilian and French research institutes specialized in wood material, biomass as energy source and mathematical modelization of the drying process in porous systems.