Thermochemical and physical transformation of byproducts from industrial oilseeds (meadowfoam and abyssinian) to bioenergy feedstock

Natures Crops International（NCI）是爱德华王子岛的一家增值加工公司， 生产用于化妆品、膳食补充剂和特殊食品的油。Meadowfoam油 （Limnanthes alba）和阿比西尼亚（Crambe abyssinica）用于个人护理产品和化妆品。后 在萃取过程中，大部分油被除去，而一部分油仍然保留在固相中。因此，我们认为， 油提取的副产物将是具有70-75%的非油固体物质和15-18%的油含量的粗粉。 NCI有兴趣为副产品粉找到应用，特别是在生物能源领域，因为它们是 未注册为动物饲料。本项目的目标是确定化学成分， 这两种副产物的物理性质，并将它们在烘焙和不烘焙的情况下转化为致密形式 （颗粒）按照生物能源原料的标准。在工作的第一步，化学品 含油种子粉（来自由NCI供应的meadowfoam和阿比西尼亚）的组成，包括油、中性 洗涤纤维（NDF），酸性洗涤纤维（ADF），酸性洗涤木质素（ADL），灰分含量，碳（C）， 将测定氢（H）、氮（N）和硫（S）。将进行烘焙实验 使用最大功率为400 W的微波反应器，用氮气吹扫。力量的结合 并在试验中优化样品烘焙的停留时间。在下一步中， 将使用单一造粒进行基于析因设计的致密化/造粒实验 单位将研究三个因素，即温度（50°C至90°C）、预处理（未经处理的膳食） 和烘焙粉）和混合制剂（包括7种不同的组合， 木材作为填充生物质）对颗粒质量的影响。将根据以下因素选择致密混合物配方： 质量属性，主要是耐久性指数、密度、灰分和能量密度。筛选的制剂将 在中试规模制粒中进行测试，以进行实际质量评价。

Natures Crops International (NCI) is a value-added processing company in Prince Edward Island that manufactures oils for cosmetics, dietary supplements, and specialty foods. Oils from meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) and abyssinian (Crambe abyssinica) are used for personal care products and cosmetics. After extraction, a major part of the oil is removed and a portion of that still remains in the solid phase. Therefore, the byproduct of oil extraction would be meals with 70-75% of non-oil solid matter and 15-18% oil content. NCI is interested to find applications, especially in bioenergy sector, for the byproduct meals because they are not registered as animal feed. The objective of the present project is to determine the chemical composition and physical properties of the two byproducts, and to convert them with and without torrefaction to densified form (pellets) according to the standards of bioenergy feedstock. In the first step of the work, the chemical composition of the oilseed meals (from meadowfoam and abyssinian supplied by NCI) including oil, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), ash content, carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) will be determined. Torrefaction experiments will be carried out using a microwave reactor with a maximum power of 400 W with nitrogen purging. The combination of power and residence time for torrefaction of the samples will be optimized in the trials. In the next step, a densification/pelletization experiment based on factorial design will be conducted using the single pelleting unit. Three factors will be investigated, namely, temperature (50°C to 90°C), pretreatment (non-treated meals and torrefied meals), and mix formulations (including 7 different combinations with different binders and wood as the filling biomass) on pellet quality. The densified mix formulations will be selected based on the quality attributes, mainly durability index, density, ash, and energy density. The screened formulations will be tested in pilot-scale pelleting for the actual quality evaluation.