Thread Content
Flash thermal decomposition process for converting biomass energy into bio-crude oil: Overseas media reports that the German company Lurgi and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have signed an agreement to jointly build a pilot plant for producing liquid fuels from biomass energy. Converting biomass energy into liquid fuel requires 3 steps: In the first step, Lurgi invested 3.76 million euros to build a pyrolysis unit for producing the intermediate for biofuels – bio-crude oil ; The remaining 2 steps are to gasify the intermediate from the thermal decomposition device and convert it into syngas, which is then used as a fuel. The design fuel can be mixed with fossil fuels in any proportion, and it contains absolutely no sulfur. In the pilot plant, all biomass sources with a water content of less than 15%, such as straw, wood, whole plants, or plant waste, are chopped up and then placed into a twin-screw mixing reactor containing hot sand as a heat carrier for decomposition. Heating by flash thermal decomposition causes thermal decomposition at a temperature of around 500°C, and steam concentration occurs within a few seconds, resulting in the formation of pyrolysis oil and coke. Lurgi states that coke is finely ground and re-suspended in oil (with a suspension mass fraction of 40%), thereby forming bio-crude suitable for transportation. This bio-crude has an energy density 15–20 times higher than that of dry biomass; it is very easy to inject, store, and process, and can ultimately be converted into designed oil.