Testbed for pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical process for converting various types of organic material such as biomass or plastic waste into energy, chemicals and / or fuels. The process takes place at temperatures between 500 and 1000 ° C in an oxygen-free environment. The products will be a vapor which can be cooled to a liquid (usually called pyrolysis oil) and a non-condensable gas as well as a solid product, coke. At RISE ETC we can study pyrolysis in different scales; analytical pyrolysis, bench-scale pyrolysis and pilot-scale pyrolysis, depending on the specific issue. With the analytical pyrolysis, which consists of a pyrolysis unit connected to a gas chromatograph (pyroGC / MS, FID), we can study the thermal behaviour of different materials, get a semi-quantitative determination of the volatile compounds produced and identify typical pyrolysis products (chemical compounds and chemical groups). In order to study mass balance, characterize the pyrolysis products (gas, oil and solids) and ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis, we have a larger (1 g / min biomass) bench scale plant based on a drop tube reactor (pyroDTF). Finally, we also have a pilot scale pyrolysis plant based on an ablative cyclone reactor (POC) to be able to analyse rapid pyrolysis of biomass in the order of 30 kg/h. The test beds enables research on an industrially relevant scale, both in relation to the pyrolysis process itself, as well as characterization and upgrading. Together with our test beds for upgrading that mimic refinery processes (SHC and FCC), advanced studies can be performed on the entire chain from raw materials (such as sawdust, bark, etc.) to biofuels.

To supplement these test beds, we also have a lab scale system (BAP - Batch Pyrolyser) for analysis of slow pyrolysis which is more suitable for plastic waste.