Pyrolysis Kinetic Analysis of Biomasses: Sugarcane Residue, Corn Cob, Napier Grass and their Mixture

The aim of this study is to investigate pyrolysis kinetic parameters of three high potential energy biomasses including sugarcane residue (tops and leaves), corn cob and Napier grass via thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). In addition, those of their mixture at 1:1:1 by mass is explored. Activation energy and pre-exponential factor were the two considered parameters calculated by following the Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method using condition of 30-900°C with heating rates of 5, 10, 20 and 40°C/min. The derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves indicated that there might be at least three different component structures in corn cob. The effective values of the both parameters were almost similar as 214.54, 216.60, 212.51 kJ/mol and 1.510E+19, 1.575E+19, 1.562E+19 min-1 for the sugarcane residue, the corn cob, the Napier grass, respectively. Finally, the ternary diagram suggested that the increase of Napier grass proportion would slightly affect the conversion of pyrolysis by reducing the total activation energy of the biomass mixture

Comparative techno-economic analysis for steam methane reforming in a sorption-enhanced membrane reactor: Simultaneous H-2 production and CO2 capture

Hydrogen (H-2) is currently receiving significant attention as a sustainable energy carrier. Steam methane reforming (SMR) accounts for approximately 50% of H-2 production methods worldwide. However, SMR is concern because of the prodigious carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that have resulted in a global climate emergency. CO2 emissions remain, although some efforts have been made in a membrane reactor (MR) coupled with membranes to improve the H-2 yield. A sorption-enhanced membrane reactor (SEMR) has been proposed as a next-generation process for simultaneous H-2 production and CO2 capture. In this study, the thermodynamic and economic evaluation of SEMR were implemented using a process simulation, an itemized cost estimation, a sensitivity analysis (SA), and an uncertainty analysis (UA). The thermodynamic analysis results revealed that unit H-2 production costs of 4.53,1.98, and 3.04 $kgH(2)(- 1) were obtained at 773 K for a conventional packed-bed reactor (PBR), a MR, and a SEMR, respectively. The SA results identified PSA as the most critical economic parameter for a unit H-2 production cost for a PBR, whereas natural gas is determined to be the most influential parameter for a MR and a SEMR. The UA results from a Monte-Carlo simulation provided a broad range of unit H-2 production costs, with 4.26-5.44$ kgH(2)(-1) for a PBR, 1.61-2.94 $kgH(2)(- 1) for a MR, and 2.83-4.19$ kgH(2)(-1)for an SEMR. This indicates that using a SEMR for next-generation H-2 production and CO2 capture is beneficial. (C) 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved