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Enhancement of thermochemical properties on rice husk under a wide range of torrefaction conditions

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Abstract

In the present study, local biomass rick husk (RH) was torrefied by an electronic furnace for improving its thermochemical properties under a wide range of torrefaction temperature (i.e., 240, 280, 320, and 360 °C) and residence time (i.e., 0, 30, 60, and 90 min). In comparison with the thermochemical properties of the starting feedstock, the torrefaction temperature at around 360 °C for residence time of 0 min would be optimal to produce the RH-torrefied product. The calorific value can be raised by 41.2%, increasing from 13.96 to 19.71 MJ/kg. Based on the calorific values of the RH-torrefied products, it was found that torrefaction temperature and residence time are important parameters affecting their fuel properties and applications in solid biofuels. Consistently, their calorific values and carbon-to-hydrogen ratios generally increased at higher torrefaction temperatures for longer residence times. In contrast, the energy yield decreased with an increase in torrefaction temperatures and residence time. These findings also supported the thermal decomposition mechanism of the lignocellulosic biomass by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Using the van Krevelen diagram for all RH-torrefied products as compared to various coals, it showed that several torrefied solids belong to the characteristics of lignite-like coal. However, the RH-torrefied biomass would not be appropriate to be directly reused as an auxiliary fuel in boilers because of the high content of silica (SiO2).

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Instrument Centers of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology and National Ching-Hwa University for the scanning electron microscopy – energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and the inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Bioresources, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan

    Wen-Tien Tsai & Tasi-Jung Jiang

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan

    Ming-Shou Tang, Chin-Hsien Chang & Tsung-Hsien Kuo

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  1. Wen-Tien Tsai
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Tsai, WT., Jiang, TJ., Tang, MS. et al. Enhancement of thermochemical properties on rice husk under a wide range of torrefaction conditions. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01945-5

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