Integrated thermo-catalytic reforming of residual sugarcane bagasse in a laboratory scale reactor

The objective of present study was to demonstrate efficient conversion of residual sugarcane bagasse by thermocatalytic reforming (TCR®) into fuels and high-value products in a laboratory scale 2 kg/h unit. None of the toxicor non-toxic chemicals and solvents was employed during the process, thus minimizing negative environmental effects. In addition, a detailed study on the composition of bio-oil using GC-MS, FT-IR and on the properties of biochar using Raman spectroscopy, SEM, SEM-EDS, TEM, TEM-EDX and BET surface analyzer have been reported for the first time for TCR® process. At optimum operating parameters, ~57.0 wt% gaseous products,23.5 wt% biochar, 15.5 wt% aqueous phase and ~4 wt% bio-oil were obtained. The hydrogen content and higher heating value (HHV) of the gaseous product were measured up to 37 vol% and 16.40 MJ/kg, respectively. The bio-oil was naturally separable from liquid phase due to gravity without application of an extracting solvent. Moreover, the bio-oil had very low water (2.6 wt%) and oxygen (10.2 wt%) content as well as HHV of 32.11 MJ/kg. Furthermore, biochar produced from TCR® possessed excellent structural and morphological properties, thereby showing potential for several applications in catalysis, soil improvement and for various other purposes. The BET surface area and micropore surface area of biochar were measured 93.144 m2/g and 90.654 m2/g, respectively whereas, the t-plot micropore volume was measured 0.0487 cm3/g.