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Bioresour Technol

Title:		"Thermal conversion of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) to bio-gas, bio-oil and charcoal"
Author(s):		Strezov V; Evans TJ; Hayman C;
Address:		"Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. vstrezov@gse.mq.edu.au"
Journal Title:		Bioresour Technol
Year:		2008
Volume:		20080411
Issue:		17
Page Number:		8394 - 8399
DOI:		10.1016/j.biortech.2008.02.039
ISSN/ISBN:		0960-8524 (Print) 0960-8524 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Elephant grass is an abundant, fast growing plant with significant potential as a renewable energy source and for conversion to higher calorific value fuels. This work investigates thermal conversion of elephant grass to bio-gas, bio-oil and charcoal under two heating rates of 10 and 50 degrees C/min. The energy required to pyrolyse elephant grass was evaluated using computer aided thermal analysis technique, while composition of the resultant bio-gas and bio-oil products were monitored with gas chromatographic and mass spectroscopic techniques. At 500 degrees C, the bio-gas compounds consisted primarily of CO2 and CO with small amounts of methane and higher hydrocarbon compounds. The heat of combustion of the bio-gas compounds was estimated to be 3.7-7.4 times higher than the heat required to pyrolyse elephant grass under both heating rates, which confirms that the pyrolysis process can be self-maintained. Faster heating rate was found to increase the amount of liquid products by 10%, while charcoal yields remained almost the same at 30%. The bio-oil mainly consisted of organic acids, phthalate esters, benzene compounds and amides. The amount of organic acids and benzene compounds were significantly reduced at 50 degrees C/min, while the yields of phthalate esters and naphthalene compounds increased. The difference in bio-oil composition with increased heating rate is believed to be associated with the reduction of the secondary reactions of pyrolysis, which are more pronounced under lower heating rate"
Keywords:		*Bioelectric Energy Sources Charcoal/*chemical synthesis Minerals/analysis Molecular Weight Pennisetum/*metabolism Plant Oils/*chemical synthesis/chemistry *Temperature Volatilization;
Notes:		"MedlineStrezov, Vladimir Evans, Tim J Hayman, Chris eng England 2008/04/15 Bioresour Technol. 2008 Nov; 99(17):8394-9. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2008.02.039. Epub 2008 Apr 11"