Production of clean agro-pellet commodities (CAPCOM) from Agro-residues

Large quantities of biomass will be needed to feed the biobased economy. Use of crops and wood may cause (indirect) land use change related greenhouse gas emissions. Agro-residues could be an interesting alternative. However, several issues are hindering efficient application: high potassium and chlorine content and low bulk density are the most important issues. In this research, a series of processes is proposed to overcome these issues. Through a combination of extraction (to remove potassium and chlorine), steam treatment and pelleting, Clean Agro-Pellet Commodities(CAPCOMs) were produced. The pellets showed improved handling properties. Combustion tests showed improved ash melting behavior, reduced fouling of heat exchangers and low emissions of NOx and fines. Fermentation tests showed that pellets produced at low severity factors were easily hydrolized and fermented to produce ethanol at normal yields. Some inhibition was seen with undiluted hydrolysates. Based on the results a techno-economical evaluation showed that pellets from agro-residues could be produced and transported at a cost of around 6 EURO/GJHHV. Sustainability analysis revealed that pellets could be produced with GHG emissions of 3 to 6.4 kgCO2eq/GJLHV. Via the combination of processes described in this paper, a huge potential of nowadays unused biomass can be made applicable for the bioeconomy. Downloaden at: http://www.etaflorence.it/proceedings/index.asp?detail=18591&mode=topic&categories=0&items=%2D%2D&limit=0&srcauthor=abelha&advsearch=true