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Biomass Conversion to Produce Hydrocarbon Liquid Fuel Via Hot-vapor Filtered Fast Pyrolysis and Catalytic Hydrotreating
Published on: December 25, 2016
Integration of decentralized torrefaction with centralized catalytic pyrolysis to produce green aromatics from coffee
Li Chai1, Christopher M Saffron2, Yi Yang3
1Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, MI, USA.
Abstract:
The aim of this work was to integrate decentralized torrefaction with centralized catalytic pyrolysis to convert coffee grounds into the green aromatic precursors of terephthalic acid, namely benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). An economic analysis of this bioproduct system was conducted to examine BTEX yields, biomass costs and their sensitivities. Model predictions were verified experimentally using pyrolysis GC/MS to quantify BTEX yields for raw and torrefied biomass. The production cost was minimized when the torrefier temperature and residence time were 239°C and 34min, respectively. This optimization study found conditions that justify torrefaction as a pretreatment for making BTEX, provided that starting feedstock costs are below $58 per tonne.
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