My experience of Transnational Access with BRISK2 at Aston University was very important for my career. These times were very helpful for me since I do not have the same facility in my University. I could perform all experiments I had planned and also do all analytical analyses necessary.
The focus of our research was on pyrolysis which converts solid biomass into a valuable liquid energy carrier or fuel known as bio-oil that can be directly used for heat, power and chemicals, and can be readily upgraded into higher value 2nd generation biofuels and chemicals. The purpose of my visit was to carry out pyrolysis experiments at different conditions (pyrolysis temperature). This opportunity provided by BRISK2 will be very useful for future research and also to publish a paper with the results obtained. After each experiment at different pyrolysis temperatures I characterised the liquid products formed and the solid residue. Besides that, I had also an opportunity to be in touch with other researchers and discussing the performance of the experiments and the results obtained with my supervisor Dr. Scott Bank and Dr. Yang Yang. This allowed for the possibility to learn how to use the GC-FID/TCD and the GC-MS.
Three experiments were carried out in BRISK2, for three specimens at different temperatures. One for beech wood, the second for hydrothermal MSW at temperatures of 450 and 550 °C.
Based on these experiments and the discussions done in EBRI, a mathematical model will be built, a computational model for a pyrolysis reactor to convert biomass to activated carbon, gas and oil and also to validate the model against experimental tests. The model describes the air flow within the reactor, the reaction kinetics, and the properties of the activated carbon and off-gas produced by the reactor. This model will then be used to propose optimized designs for a pyrolysis reactor.
A series of computational models will be developed for the reactor, at varying levels of detail. This effort will be supported by ongoing experimental work on activated carbons within Aston University that will provide data to inform and validate the computational models (e.g., pyrolysis kinetics). In this work, a comprehensive 2D model will be developed using an Eulerian-Eulerian approach to describe the transport equations for both solid and gas phases.
