Production of energy and activated carbon from agri-residue: sunflower seed example

In this work, a biomass processing facility is designed and simulated for the annual conversion of 77 ktons of sunflower residue into electricity and activated carbon. The residue is initially pyrolized to produce low hydrocarbon gases (35 wt%), bio-oils (30 wt%), and char (35 wt%). The gases and bio-oils are separated and combusted to generate high pressure steam, electricity, and steam for conversion of char into activated carbon. Assuming 35% of the char's mass is lost during activation, the proposed process produces 15.6 ktons activated carbon and 5.5 ktons ash annually, while generating 10.2 MW of electricity. Economic analysis of the proposed facility yielded capital costs of $31.64 million, annual operating costs of $31.58 million, and a yearly gross revenue of $38.9 million. A discounted payback period of 6.1 years was determined for the current design, extending to 10 years if the facility were operated at 75% capacity. While the proposed process appears to be economically viable, profitability is highly sensitive to the selling price of electricity and activated carbon, highlighting the need for additional research into the pyrolysis reactor design, char/ash separation techniques, and the quality of activated carbon obtained using char from sunflower residue pyrolysis.