Hybrid Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Process and Solar Thermochemical Energy Storage System, Investigation and Process Development

The present study models and examines a novel integrated process of fast pyrolysis of biomass using a system of solar type of heliostat and a system of energy storage by thermochemical method. This integrated model enables biomass pyrolysis to produce bio-oil, reducing the need of external heat and improving efficiency of pyrolysis. The discussion focuses on three: daily, weekly, and yearly, scenarios for storing solar energy. In addition, the evaluation includes assessing the solar fraction, size of the storage devices, power load of auxiliary heating device, and energyefficiency. The modeling and simulation tasks were conducted using Aspen Plus and Engineering Equation Solver. According to the findings, 0.680 kg per second pyro-oil can be generated from one kilogram per second biomass (hybrid poplar). Also 0.170 kg per second char and 0.160 kg per second gases could be yielded from one kilogram per second of the mentioned biomass. The integrated system yields a solar fraction of 0.850 as the resulting outcome. By utilizing the storage system, the thermal energy needed for pyrolysis system can be reduced from 36.49 to 3.929 MW.