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Torrefaction as a Chlorine Reduction Process of Brazilian Eucalyptus sp. for Use as Biofuel

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Abstract 

The torrefaction assays were carried out at temperatures of 240, 260, and 280 °C for 30 and 60 min to investigate the chlorine (Cl) behavior in Eucalyptus sp. from the region of Paraiba Valley, Brazil. The solid product obtained from the reactions — torrefied wood — was analyzed for mass loss, elemental analysis, calorific value, scanning electron microscopy, and chlorine content. The results showed that the mass loss ranged from 11.5 to 16.7% at the lowest temperatures tested, reaching 37.2% at 280 °C for 60 min. The samples torrefied at 260 and 280 °C for 60 min showed characteristics similar to lignite and peat, which have higher heating values. However, torrefied reactions of 30 min had better energy yields (97.6%). It is noteworthy that during torrefaction at 240 °C and 260 °C for 30 min, the chlorine reduction was 88 and 95% respectively, in relation to raw wood, resulting in concentrations of 30 and 13 mg kg−1 of chlorine in the torrefied samples, meeting the specification of the ENplus standard (< 200 mg kg−1). Thus, torrefaction is a pretreatment process for Eucalyptus sp. from Paraiba Valley, state of São Paulo (Brazil), to produce biofuel with low chlorine content, enabling its commercialization in the European market.

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Funding

This study was funded by grants no 2016/13852–3, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and Unified Scholarship Program, University of São Paulo (USP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciências Básicas E Ambientais, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena, Universidade de São Paulo, Lorena, SP, 12602-810, Brazil

    Erica L. Romão, Jean M. da Silva & Nicolas V. dos Santos Luz

  2. Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena, Universidade de São Paulo, Lorena, SP, 12602-810, Brazil

    Rosa A. Conte

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  1. Erica L. Romão
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  2. Jean M. da Silva
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Erica L. Romão: conceptualization, funding acquisition; investigation; project administration; resources; methodology; data curation; formal analysis; writing and editing; Jean M. da Silva: data curation; methodology; Nicolas V. dos Santos Luz: data curation; methodology; Rosa A. Conte: formal analysis; writing — review and editing.

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Romão, E.L., da Silva, J.M., dos Santos Luz, N.V. et al. Torrefaction as a Chlorine Reduction Process of Brazilian Eucalyptus sp. for Use as Biofuel. Bioenerg. Res. 16, 448–456 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-022-10429-x

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