Residual pyrolysis biochar as additive to enhance wood pellets quality

Abstract

Woody biomass pellets' demand for primary energy production is increasing. To guarantee sustainable and cost-efficient pellet production the diversification of biomass feedstock is mandatory. In this work it is proposed to re-use the solid biochar obtained from pyrolysis of eucalyptus (PEc) at 700 °C as an additive to produce enhanced pine sawdust (PIN) pellets. The process required the addition of glycerol as a lubricant in a percentage of 1 and 2 wt% per 5 and 10 wt% of pyrolyzed eucalyptus in the blend, respectively. Small additions of PEc enhanced PIN pellets' grindability and water-resistance, providing products with remarkable values of durability (up to 99%), net calorific value (up to 20 MJ/kg), energy density (up to 13.3 GJ/m3), and particle density (up to 1.24 g/cm3). N, S, chlorine, and heavy metals contents were also analyzed. The proposed pellets fulfill the A1/A2 and the I1/I2 quality classes for domestic and industrial wood pellets, respectively. A preliminary economic evaluation indicated that pellets made up from a mixture of 90% PIN and 10% PEc are competitive compared to raw PIN pellets, with expected savings in the costs of production, energy, transport, and construction of a storage site of 4, 13, 10 and 7%, respectively. ; This work was carried out with financial support from the Gobierno del Principado de Asturias (PCTI, Ref. IDI/2018/000115), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). M.V. Gil acknowledges support from a Ramón y Cajal grant (RYC-2017-21937) of the Spanish Government and the Spanish State Research Agency, co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF). ; Peer reviewed