ON-SITE THERMOCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF LIGNIN: TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS

Transcription

1 ON-SITE THERMOCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF LIGNIN: TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS a,b Sherif Farag, Research Associate a Jamal Chaouki, Professor a Department of Chemical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal b RMTech for Environmental Solutions Inc. Biomass North AGM and Forum Research Symposium Oct , 2016 North Bay, Ontario 1

2 Background The production of value-added products, in addition to traditional commodity, is a path to ensure a sustainable future for the industry. Forest product sector contribution to GDP in Canada, (source: Natural Resources Canada website) 2

3 Background Lignin is the most abundant byproduct from paper making processes. The US paper industry produces annually over 50 MT, mostly is burned. Lignin is the only renewable source of aromatics in nature. Lignin is one of the most complex organic polymers in nature. 3

4 Lignin based Products Lignin is a complex heterogeneous aromatic polymer with many functional groups that make it looks suitable for the production of many products. The product diversification would: Foams Carbon black Adhesive in wood products Carbon petrochemical-based fibres Activated carbon products; Pharmaceuticals Epoxy Resin Packing 1. Address the unexpected challenges faced by the industry; 2. Deal with rapid increase in price and demand of 3. Valorize the material; and Other benefits. Soil additive Fuel additive 4

5 Biomass conversion technologies Schematic diagram of a pyrolysis process and the utilization of the obtained products 5

6 Results: Effect of the pyrolysis conditions on the product yields Product wt% Temperature [K] Solid Gas Aqueous Phase Oil Phase Product distribution at selected pyrolysis conditions Farag, S., et al., Detailed compositional analysis and structural investigation of a bio-oil from microwave pyrolysis of kraft lignin. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, (0): p

7 Results: Kinetic modeling of pyrolysis of kraft lignin Lignin Solid Phenolics ASR-Non-Ph Aliphatic HMWC Water Gas GC-MS & GC-FID analyses was performed on the liquid product. ASR-Non-Ph: Aromatic with a single ring non-phenols. HMWC: Heavy molecular weight compounds. Farag, S., L. Kouisni, and J. Chaouki, Lumped Approach in Kinetic Modeling of Microwave Pyrolysis of Kraft Lignin. Energy & Fuels, (2): p

8 Results: Kinetic modeling of pyrolysis of kraft lignin Product E a [kj/mol] k o [s -1 ] n [ ] Solid Gas Water Phenolics HMWC ASR-Non-Ph Aliphatic Farag, S., L. Kouisni, and J. Chaouki, Lumped Approach in Kinetic Modeling of Microwave Pyrolysis of Kraft Lignin. Energy & Fuels, (2): p

9 Results: Kinetic modeling of pyrolysis of kraft lignin Optimize the pyrolysis conditions to maximize phenols yield. [C] Estimated phenols yield at different pyrolysis conditions [g/g lignin] Farag, S., L. Kouisni, and J. Chaouki, Lumped Approach in Kinetic Modeling of Microwave Pyrolysis of Kraft Lignin. Energy & Fuels, (2): p

10 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin Now, an economics evaluation for pyrolysis of lignin is essential for making a decision for selecting or rejecting the investment. Design a pyrolysis plant Calculate the mass and energy of the plant Hypothesis Estimate the purchased equipment price Calculate the total capital investment and operating cost Item Value Capacity 50 t/d Oil yield 23 wt-% Feedstock purchase price $500/t Investment period 10 yrs. Tax 30% Working 7000hr/yr Estimate the minimal selling price of the products Economics Evaluation for pyrolysis of lignin Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

11 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin (A) (B) Process flow, (A) precipitation of lignin and (B) the designed plant, (Temperature [ o C] and flow rate [kg/hr]) Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

12 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin Estimated operating costs and total capital investment of an on-site pyrolysis plant Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

13 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin The estimated selling price of the dry oil obtained from the pyrolysis of kraft lignin is 3100 $/t. Cumulative cash position over the full life cycle of the plant Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

14 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin Impact of the crucial variables on the estimated selling price of bio-oil from the pyrolysis of Kraft lignin Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

15 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin (A) (B) Impact of the (A) feedstock cost and (B) bio-oil yield on the estimated selling price of the obtained dry oil Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

16 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin (A) (B) (A) Impact of the dry oil yield on the estimated selling price of the obtained dry oil, and (B) Impact of designed plant capacity on cumulative cash flow at the end of 10 yrs. of investment Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

17 Results: Economics evaluation of on-site pyrolysis of lignin (A) (B) (A) Impact of (a) base case, (b) 1 st scenario, (c) 2 nd scenario, and (d) 3 rd scenario on the estimated selling price, and (B) the accumulative cash at the end of 10 yrs. of investment a- 500 $/t, 50 t/d, 23% b- 0 $/t, 50 t/d, 23% c- 0 $/t, 100 t/d, 23% d- 0 $/t, 100 t/d, 30% Farag, S. and J. Chaouki, Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals. Bioresource Technology, (0): p

18 Conclusion The estimated selling price of the dry oil obtained from pyrolysis of kraft lignin is 3100 $/t; Currently, lignin pyrolysis oil can not compete fossil fuel based phenols; To reduce the selling price of the lignin pyrolysis oil, lignin at less cost should be found, and higher liquid yield should be obtained; At present, converting lignin to phenol used in resin production is a costly-process compared to using lignin itself as a phenolic-substrate. We We can can make make money everything from lignin, frombut lignin it needs exceptfurther moneyeffort 18

19 Acknowledgements Lignoworks NSERC Strategic Network for the financial and technical support; FPInnovations, Montreal, Quebec, Canada for providing the raw material; and Prof. Philip G. Jessop and Dr. Dongbao Fu at Queen s University for analysing the pyrolysis liquid. 19

20 Thanks for your attention. Contact: