Lead Researcher
Title
Prof
Firstname
Ayoade
Middlename
Surname
Kuye
Phone
08033101487
Email
ayokuye@yahoo.com
Research Grant Details
Research Topic
Development of Biofuel Technology from locally source cellulosic materials
Benefit to Oil and Gas
Cellulosic materials from saw dust developed and biodiesel production is being processed.
Research Duration
2
University
University of Port Harcourt
Abstract
The importance of sustainable alternatives energy development has led to both developed and
developing countries promulgating laws and policies to supplement fossil based fuels consumed
annually by renewable alternatives. The amount of organic waste generated and disposed off
indiscriminately provide opportunities for converting these waste materials to bio-oil to reduce the dependency on food crops for liquid fuels production. This report outlines the process of converting sawdust into bio-oil. The project involved review of the pyrolysis process and evaluates the technical challenges that confront the production of liquid fuel in Nigeria, characterization of sawdust, design and commission of a bio-oil processing plant of 1 kg/h of bio-oil, and characterization of bio-oil. Although the process of fast pryloysis seems to be very simple it comes with a several challenging in ensuring production of quality bio-oil. Some the underlying challenges include; heat supply and heating rate, char removal, rapid vapour cooling, vapour residence time, and ensuring inert environment. Characterization of Nigerian sawdust shows that no pretreatment is required before production. Some physical and chemical properties needed for proper design of the pyrolysis process have been quantified. Also, preliminary design of all the major units required for pyrolysis has been made from first principles and currently undergoing process simulation to avoid “cut and weld” fabrication.
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