Continuous Pyrolysis Unit for Activated Carbon Production

Production of activated carbon requires charcoal as raw material. Charcoal production will be more effective and efficient by continuous pyrolysis (carbonization). In addition to the high quality charcoal produced can also produce electricity and steam production for the activation process. Of course this makes high efficiency of the production process. Whereas in terms of environmental aspects, it is also very environmentally friendly because of smoke pollution during the process of pyrolysis (carbonisation) can be minimized below the threshold. Methane emissions that are very damaging to the ozone layer also did not occur.

The process of pyrolysis (carbonization) with a temperature of around 400 C with a product in the form of charcoal can immediately proceed with activation. Activation with 700-1000 C operating conditions can be done directly by raising the temperature. If the excess syngas is used for electricity production, then biooil from pyrolysis can be used to fuel in steam production. Excess electricity can also be sold to industries or to electricity companies. Whereas if all sources of energy are used for the production of activated charcoal (activated carbon), the consumption of heating oil can be minimized and even eliminated. Activated carbon production with all the energy can be supplied by itself is certainly very interesting and economical.

The problem with traditional charcoal production is the problem of smoke pollution and the amount of energy lost. Smoke pollution can be directly identified and can be easily felt, but the problem of energy loss is usually not noticed and generally do not know. Of course this is very unfortunate, let alone energy is one component of high costs in a production process. Is there really an energy loss? And how much energy is lost? Of course we need to look in detail at the carbonization process (pyrolysis) to answer these questions.

 Conversion from raw materials to charcoal is only 20-25% in the process of traditional carbonization / pyrolysis. For example, we take a conversion of 25%, with a raw material of 10 tons of coconut shell, 2.5 tons of charcoal are produced. Coconut shell with a heating value of around 4,500 kcal / kg, meaning that 10 tons of raw material is 45,000,000 kcal. While coconut shell charcoal with a heating value of around 8,000 kcal / kg, then 2.5 tons of charcoal will have a heating value of 20,000,000 kcal / kg. Based on these calculations more than 50% of energy is lost or is only wasted, ie 25,000,000 kcal. If the conversion to charcoal is lower or 20%, the energy loss is even greater, namely 29,000,000 kcal or more than 60%. Of course it is very inefficient and should be avoided. This can also happen for carbonization of various other raw materials for activated carbon, such as palm kernel shells, wood, and so on.

Continuous pyrolysis is the best solution for charcoal production and also the production of energy that can be used for the activated carbon production process itself. The activated carbon factories that have been established can upgrade the technology especially on the side of charcoal production and energy fulfillment. The more efficient of a production will be the more economical the business. While the pyrolysis or carbonization process is also still produced by-products namely biomass vinegar (pyroligneous acid / liquid smoke) which can be used as plant fertilizer, biopesticides to raw materials for chemicals, especially biophenol and wood adhesive.

Biochar and IOT

The availability of nutrients for crops, especially food crops, to always produce maximum productivity is important for farmers. This is where biochar will help provide nutrients for the plant by making the soil microbials homes with pores, then with pores will also retain nutrients or fertilizers from leaching so that fertilization becomes effective and efficient. Biochar will also keep the organic moisture and carbon (C) needed for the plant. Organic farming that is currently widely developed will be in line with the use of biochar. The use of biochar with compost (solid organic fertilizer) is an application commonly used in organic farming and has been proven to give maximum results for the productivity of these plants. While the use of chemical fertilizers on the contrary will kill the soil microbes that will damage the chemical structure of the soil. Good soil should be like a fresh bread that expands with lots of pores in it, instead of like solid, hard bread.

Then what to do with IOT (InternetOf Things)? This IOT can later be used to measure and monitor the availability of nutrients or fertilizers for these plants, as well as various variables that affect plant growth such as air humidity, sunlight availability for photosynthesis, the presence of pests and so on. Parameter parameters will be displayed with the IOT app, which can be viewed with a personal computer (PC) or even with a smartphone or gadget in real time. With this IOT the soil conditions and nutritional availability can be measured and monitored. So the use of biochar can also be known how effective and efficient compared with not using biochar. 

The more measurable the condition and availability of nutrients or fertilizers in the soil, the easier it is for farmers to manage their farms. Fertilizers also need not be added again if known to be sufficient or otherwise. A number of studies with various experiments have shown that the use of biochar in agricultural land can reduce the use of  fertilizer up to 50%. Of course it is very interesting for farmers. With the IOT technology makes the existence of biochar increasingly known benefits so it will also be more widely used. For large biochar requirements, production with continuous pyrolysis technology is the best way.

       

Syngas Cleaning And Operation Time For Private/Independent Power Providers (IPP)

The continuity and stability of the electricity supply to the buyer is the most important thing for the private power provider or the Independent Power Producer (IPP). Electrical buyers in general are government through PLN or industry. To be able to provide such a continuous and stable electricity supply, IPP strives in such a way in a variety of ways including its various process engineering and also the operational. Biomass is a renewable energy source for electricity production that has many advantages especially in Indonesia, for example when wind and water (hydro) power plants are severely affected by weather conditions, the biomass power plant is not affected. Even high rainfall and tropical climate will increase the production of biomass as a source of energy. Related to the use of gas from biomass there are two routes to produce gas that is biology route and thermochemical route. The biological route is by fermentation in the digester, while the thermal route with gasification and pyrolysis. The characteristics of the raw material will determine the choice of technology, whether by biological route or thermochemical. Liquid waste or high water content and easy rot, such as livestock manure and palm oil mill effluent (POME) will use biological route, whereas biomass which is not easy to decompose such as woody biomass thermochemical route becomes the choice.

Why need to extract gas from the biomass? This is in addition to improving efficiency, also facilitate the utilization. Even by extracting the gas will also produce a number of economic value-added byproducts, for example with pyrolysis technology in addition to generating electricity, by-products such as charcoal, biooil, and biomass vinegar (liquid smoke). The economic value of these byproducts are bigger than the electricity production. The gas composition of the various biomasses also varies, depending on the biomass and the technology used, for example in biogas of large methane gas composition (55-75%), gasification of methane gas composition 0.5-3% while in pyrolysis gas composition methane 4-11%. Gas engine is a equipment or device commonly used to convert the combustible gas into electricity. Gas turbine although efficiency is higher but rarely used because of operational and maintenance factors are more difficult. Steam turbine is also rarely used and commonly used in large capacity power plants (> 20 MW). While Stirling engine and ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) technology can also use gas from the biomass, but it is not specific because both Stirling engine and ORC only require heat for its operation and it does not have to be from gas. Practically both technologies above are using a lot of combustion to obtain the required heat.

Stirling Engine

ORC Technology

Gas Turbine

Gas Engine

The problem of purity or cleanliness of the gas that resulted in the operation of private power plants (IPP) received serious attention. The cleaner the gas and the stable the gas supply so the more stable the operation of the power plant and the opposite. The purchaser or user of electricity also requires the amount of electricity supply and tolerance to the breaking or shutting down of electricity at a certain time which must be fulfilled by the provider or private power producer. Various gas cleaning technologies have been used to obtain clean and stable gas supply to the converting equipments used. Gas cleaning technology in addition must be cheap and also easy to use so that electricity providers remain profitable. In general, the gas cleaning technology is to clean the gas from its impurities including also reduce or eliminate the gases that potentially disrupt the operation of such conversion equipments. For example CO2 and H2S gases in biogas process or tar in gasification and pyrolysis. 

Water scrubber (absorber) and stripper unit for biogas refinery

JF BioCarbon continuous pyrolysis technology is the best choice of electricity production from biomass with thermal route. This is in addition to generated electricity, also produced side products that are not less profitable, namely charcoal, biooil, and biomass vinegar. Then how about cleaning the gas so that the power supply electricity continuously? With a number of line cleaning units that work alternately, the continuity of the supply of clean gas can continue to run so also with the supply of electricity. A number of sensors are installed to ensure the cleanliness of the gas. Downtime or power outages will be reduced or even eliminated. Sufficient gas cleaning will ensure the continuous operation of the gas engine generator as a conversion unit from pyrolysis gas (chemical energy) to heat and mechanical energy (reciprocating engine in gas engine) and generate electricity. It is time for private power companies (IPP) to consider slowpyrolysis technology to continue as a wise and best choice for the production of electricity from biomass and a number of byproducts that are very profitable.

Continuous Pyrolysis Most Suitable For Bulk Raw Materials

Bulk raw materials such as palm shells, rice husks, sawdust, peanut shells, coffee husk and so, if will be charred or carbonized best suited with continuous pyrolysis. This is because the bulk of raw materials can flow or poured into a container such as a pipe. Retort type pyrolysis by an auger inside it will push along the retort and into charcoal at the outlet. JFBC continuous pyrolysis is one of them and is capable of producing charcoal up to 70 tonnes/day in its largest unit. Raw material with size upto 1 inch is accepted in the pyrolysis unit. It will be difficult when using batch pyrolysis because it will take a long time and process control also not easy. In the retort pyrolysis temperature, timing and heating rate control also easy to do. The process time on a continuous pyrolysis is also fast and very different to the type of batch that takes days and even up weekly.

In addition to the continuous pyrolysis will produce a number of side products that also have economic value, which is generally to be difficult in a batch pyrolysis. Pyrolysis by-products include wood vinegar / liquid smoke, bio-oil, tar and syngas. Utilization of wood vinegar / liquid smoke, among others as a fish preservative or rubber coagulant. Bio-oil is used as fuel for the boiler and can be upgraded to vehicle fuel. Tar also can be as fuel and syngas because large amount could be as a source of heat to electricity generation.

 

Some industries require charcoal in the size of the bulk because of the charcoal into a material that ready for them. Agricultural charcoal (biochar), charcoal for activated charcoal raw material in various purification industries from the food sector, mining and even oil and gas, hereinafter the steel industry and others. The bulk charcoal as raw material will reduce production costs for the downstream industry, if the particle size and shape according to the needs of the industry concerned or ready-made, so the cost of downsizing (size reduction) could be eliminated if use large-sized charcoals.

Continuous Activated Carbon Production is More Efficient With Integration JF BioCarbon Continuous Carbonization and Rotating Kiln Activation Unit

Charcoal production as raw material of activated carbon with continuous slow pyrolysis (carbonization) technology very efficient in terms of the energy efficiency, product quality of charcoal is produced, the production process in an easy and environment friendly and many type of outputs is the produced by slow pyrolysis process beside the charcoal namely syngas, biooil  and biomass vinegar, which are all valued economically. Accurate process control as well as production capacity of medium-large scale highly profitable to process a large number of raw materials or that will make activated carbon plant in medium-large scale with high quality.

The size of activated carbon usually on granul or powder which is also very suitable with application of the technology. Charcoal production with JF BioCarbon technology for raw materials of activated carbon will be in the form of granul with capacity is around 20 tons to 70 tons per day which is processed by steam activating so that it would be activated carbon. With raw materials of charcoal is produced then activated carbon plant with capacity 6 - 25 tonnes per day can be made. Charcoal from coconut shell and palmkernel shell are the most common  used in the activated carbon production because its hardness. Iodine number is other parameter the quality of activated carbon besides its hardness. With steam activation, the iodine number that can be reached around 1000 while when combined with chemical activation then the iodine number that can be reached above 2500.

  By setting up the operational process condition such as temperature and residence time then charcoal with high fixed carbon can get and after the process conditions has been obtained for charcoal product with that specification that is desired then the hot charcoal can immediately feed into the  rotating kiln activation unit  without cooling beforehand, so that will save energy consumption significantly especially in the steam activation process. Syngas from pyrolysis will be used in the activation process to produce steam and keep the temperature of activation. Excess syngas after being used in process activation, then can be used to generate electricity or other energy source.

Biochar: Low Carbon Economy As A Soution To Climate Change and the Environment

The high consumption of fossil fuels as the pedestal current economic activity has caused adverse effects on the environment such as the climate change and environmental issues. Accumulation of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere that has exceeded the threshold needs to be reduced to the safe limit. Some things you can do include: improving energy efficiency of various equipment and machines today are still using fossil fuel, using fuel or renewable energy sources and absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. When we review the balance of carbon emitted by the use of renewable fuels or substitution of fossil fuels with renewable energy is carbon neutral, while the absorption of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere is carbon negative.

Low-carbon economy as a solution to climate change and the environment is how economic sectors are encouraged to carbon neutral conditions even carbon negative. Biomass energy is one solution to achieve the low-carbon economy. Availability of biomass feedstock in Indonesia in particular, is very abundant and has a small part that is less than 5% is used as an energy source. The Optimum scenario of utilization the biomass into environmentally friendly forms of energy is the next questions when we has dropped the option to use as an energy source.

Continuous pyrolysis technology as a second generation biofuel technology is the best solution in order to establish the era of low-carbon economy. Products such as charcoal / biochar,  biooil, and syngas will be generated by this technology. Especially biomass waste or organic waste can be directly processed at the site to produce the products as above. Agro-industry companies such as palm oil mill generate huge biomass waste every day. Indonesia and Malaysia as the largest palm oil producer in the world or around 87% of world production (2007) that had a lot of palm oil mills is estimated at more than 1,000 units, so that the biomass waste available is overwhelming.

Especially in palm oil industries, product biochar (charcoal) will have a major role to improve soil fertility, including reducing the need for chemical fertilizers (urea) in oil palm plantations, so it will be very profitable. A number of efforts have been carried out by the palm oil companies to increase their effectiveness in fertilization and soil enrichment, and with biochar is like like 1 shoot killed 2 birds, palm solid waste problem can be overcome, gain energy sources and improvement of soil fertility. Biochar (charcoal) in addition to be able to fertilize the soil is capable of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to a carbon negative mechanism, while biooil and syngas can be applied as a carbon neutral fuel because it comes from biomass.

Trilema of Energy, Economy and Environment

The big problem facing the world today is energy, economy and environment. All three are interrelated and influence each other. Solving the problem or solution to it can only be done in a comprehensive way, not partial, so that the sustainable development is possible.  That's bad idea when we just focusing on one aspect so the two other aspects are neglected thus enabling larger problem.

By the time the use of renewable energy will continue to increase of its role and will be the primary energy source at a time. This is inline with the public awareness of community for living environmentally and sustainable that continues to grow. Various regulations began to be developed and implemented to accelerate it.

Various scenarios were created for the implementation at application level. Processing biomass waste, organic waste and plastic waste and scrap tires with continuous pyrolysis technology is the best scenario to overcome Trilemma facing today.