Fast pyrolysis of coconut biomass--An FTIR study

The reaction pathway of coconut shell fast pyrolysis was studied by analysis of the transient evolution product profiles as a function of temperature, measured directly in the sample bed. Fast pyrolysis of coconut shell produced (i) pyrolysis liquid containing CH, CO, and COC bands, (ii) char with the absence of COH and CO suggesting that ether and carbonyl compounds were decomposed below 600 °C, and (iii) gaseous product majorly consisting of CO2. Increase the heating rate has a greater effect on increasing the yield of aliphatic and carbonyl compounds compared to that of aromatic compounds. The selectivity of the fast pyrolysis liquid was shifted from vinyl species to carbonyl species at temperatures between 500 and 615 °C. In situ IR study suggests that CO and CO2 were mainly produced from cracking of CH and CO bonds. Fast pyrolysis of D2O-saturated coconut shell showed that moisture in the biomass does not increase the H2 yield at high temperature and H2 is mainly produced from breaking of CH bonds

Investigation of Boudouard Reactions on Carbon-Based Solid Oxide Fuel Cells by Transient Techniques

Carbon-based solid oxide fuel cell (C-SOFC) is an effective approach for electric power generation because of its simplicity. The basic principle of the carbon-based fuel cell is electrochemical oxidization of solid carbon to CO2 on the anode. CO2 produced can further react with carbon fuel to generate CO via Boudouard reactions (C+CO2 → 2CO). Transient techniques consisting of pulse injection and step switch were used to study Boudouard reaction on C-SOFCs. The step switch and pulse transient studies showed that up to 90% of CO2 can be converted to CO, which was involved in electrochemical oxidation to increase power densities. The contribution of CO to increased power densities was confirmed by separating solid carbon and fuel cells in varying flow patterns. CO2 and CO were also found to displace adsorbed H2 on carbon fuels. The desorbed H2 was then oxidized to produce H2O on C-SOFCs

The Direct Carbon Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with H-2 and H2o Feeds

The performance of the direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell (C-SOFC) with a Ni/YSZ anode has been studied with a 50 mol% H-2, 3 mol% H-2, and 7 mol% H2O feed at 750 degrees C The electricity generation was dominated by consumption of H-2 fuel at 50 mol% H-2 and by carbon at 3 mol% H-2. The low (3 mol%) H-2 kept the Ni/YSZ anode in reduced state, enhancing its electrochemical oxidation activities. Introducing 7 mol% H2O initiated the water reaction with carbon to produce H-2 and CO that could serve as a fuel for further reactions in anode interlayer, exhibiting a decrease in the overall Faraday resistance of the C-SOFC. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved