Technologies for thermochemical conversion of agricultural and forestry residues into fuels and chemicals

将各种农业和林业残留物热解转化为液体生物油和固体生物炭是一项非常有吸引力的技术，该技术已在替代资源化学品和燃料研究所的实验室中得到完善和扩大。 生物油提供了多种替代应用，包括用作燃料、杀虫剂、杀虫剂、香料和药物。 然而，它们的特性随着原始原料和操作条件的变化而变化很大，并且通常它们不能在没有进一步加工和升级的情况下立即利用。 同样，热解生物炭需要升级，以充分利用其特性并最大限度地发挥其价值。因此，根据以往的经验和往绩，拟议研究计划的主要目的包括：（a）持续改善流化床技术，以有效行程不断增加的物料，而这些物料均经过精心挑选，避免与食物或其他更有效的生物转化工序竞争（农业和林业残留物、食品加工业的副产品以及生物转化过程中产生的副产品），以及（B）生物油和生物柴油的升级技术的开发，由不同残留物生产的炭，使其适合融入现有的传统化石燃料和化学品市场，单独的产品或混合物。 这些目标将通过开展新的项目来实现，所有项目都涉及研究生，这些项目涉及：（1）改进流化床热解器的固体进料器，以处理粘性和纤维状生物质材料;（2）研究分级冷凝，以实现生物油馏分的初步分离，然后可以使用适当的反应途径单独利用或升级;（3）研究生物质焦的物理和化学改性;和（4）开展有关生物油催化和热提质的全面研究计划，包括生物质/生物油和加拿大重质碳氢化合物（炼油厂重质底部油、重油和沥青）共处理（共热解）产生的潜力和协同效应。

Pyrolytic conversion of a large variety of agricultural and forestry residues into liquid bio-oils and solid biochar is a very attractive technology that has been perfected and scaled up in our laboratories of the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR). Bio-oils offer a large variety of alternative applications, including their use as fuels, pesticides, insecticides, flavors, and pharmaceuticals. However, their characteristics vary greatly as a function of the original feedstock and of the operating conditions and, typically, they cannot be immediately utilized without further processing and upgrading. Similarly, the pyrolytic bio-char needs to be upgraded to take full advantage of its characteristics and maximize its value. Therefore, building on previous experience and track record, the main objectives of the proposed research program include (a) continuous improvements of the fluid bed technology to allow the efficient processing of an ever expanding array of materials that are carefully selected to avoid competition with food or other more efficient biological conversion processes (agricultural and forestry residues, co-products of the food processing industry, and byproducts generated in biological conversion processes), and (b) the development of upgrading technologies for bio-oils and bio-chars produced from different residues to make them suitable for integration into the existing markets for conventional fossil fuels and chemicals as individual products or as blends. These objectives will be achieved by undertaking new projects, all involving graduate students, on (1) the improvement of the solid feeders for fluid bed pyrolyzers to handle cohesive and fibrous biomass materials; (2) investigating fractional condensation to achieve a primary separation of fractions of bio-oil that could then separately utilized or upgraded using appropriate reaction pathways; (3) studying physical and chemical upgrading of bio-chars; and (4) conducting a comprehensive research program on bio-oil catalytic and thermal upgrading, including the potential and synergies derived from the co-processing (co-pyrolysis) of biomass/bio-oils and of Canadian heavy hydrocarbons (refinery heavy bottoms, heavy oils and bitumens).