Cattle manure thermochemical conversion to hydrogen-rich syngas, through pyrolysis and gasification
Marius Constantinescu, Felicia Bucura, Eusebiu Ilarian Ionete, Ştefan Ionuţ Spiridon, Roxana Elena Ionete, Anca Maria Zaharioiu, Florian Marin, Daniela Ion‐Ebrasu, Oana Romina Botoran, Antoaneta Roman
Abstract
The fundamental significance of using cattle manure as a case study is the risk of continuing pollution, caused by its poor management in connection to the increasing demand for animal-derived food. Pyrolysis and gasification, effective solutions with real valorization potential, are the proposed techniques of converting this type of waste into valuable products. After a complete initial characterization, cattle manure is converted into hydrogen-rich syngas, using a modular hybrid fixed-bed reactor, at a generous thermal range, 700 °C to 875 °C, under different process agents, without the use of steam or the addition of catalysts. In comparison to gasification, the quantification of syngas demonstrates higher yields in pyrolysis processes, but with a lower energy potential. The content of the syngas in hydrogen, ⁓ 25 vol% and hydrocarbons, ⁓ 25 vol%, emphasized by an energetic value of ⁓ 17 MJ/m3, holistically places the gasification process in a slight advantage in relation to pyrolysis, exceeding the values presented by other studies on similar matrices and technical conditions. The forecast investigation of syngas composition through polynomial functions shows a significant drop in hydrogen and hydrocarbon concentrations after the 80-min sampling period.