The pilot plant basically consists of a fluidized bed reactor with a processing capacity of 15 kg/h, and can operate with continuous feeding of biomass and fluidizing agent.
In this facility, gasification experiments of WWTP sludge, compost, and RDF (combustible fraction of urban solid waste) have been carried out, studying the quantity and quality of the gas obtained, as well as the by-products of gasification. The plant has all the "on-line" monitoring systems for both the production of condensable volatiles (TAR) and the gas composition (including NH3).
Equipment
This laboratory (not fully arranged yet) is, for the moment being, equipped with the following devices:
- Gas Chromatograph (GC-MS/FID/S) for characterization of gaseous effluents coming from waste treatment processes [Agilent 7890A/5975C/8355S]
- Liquid Chromatograph (HLPC-UV/RI) for quantification of non-volatile soluble compounds [Waters 1515/2487/2414]
- Elemental Analyzer (CHNS) at micro (TrueSpec) y macro (CHNS628) scale [LECO]
- Total Organic Carbon (TOC) for determination of organic carbon in aqueous streams [Shimadzu TOC-L]
- Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA+DTA+DSC) for thermal characterization of samples subjected to reactive atmospheres [Netzch STA Jupiter F1]
- Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) para for determination of functional groups in solid, liquid and gas samples [Agilent Cary 670] complemented with visible/IR microscopy for solids [610 FTIR]
- Calorimeter for determination of higher heating value of solid samples [IKA C-2000]
- Surface physi- and chemisorption analysis for solid simples [Quantachrome Autosorb iQ3 TPX]
The lab also includes an Inductive Coupling Plasma with Mass Spectrometer in tandem (ICP-MS/MS) that enables to determine and quantify elements and their isotopes at trace and ultratrace level. Its main use is serving as an analysis instrument in the field of environmental studies, Gas Chromatograph coupled with Mass Spectrometer with simultaneous detection of N and P (GC-MS). Aside from a conventional GS-MS, this device is equipped with an NPD detector. This issue serves in the studies devoted to the new generation of nitrogenous fertilizers with limited contribution of organic nitrogen and phosphorus. Finally a High capacity, high pressure mercury porosimeter (Hg-Porosim) can be used to operate at high pressures (400 MPa) and determine pores in the range of 3 nm for the analysis of samples of catalysts as well as solid wastes and their derivatives like those coming from biomass pyrolysis and gasification of wastes.
Complementary, thermal and rheological characterization is offered by a Laser Flash device (NTEZSH) for thermal diffusivity determination, that coupled with a Thermomechanical Analizer (Metler Toledo), a densimeter (Metler Toledo) and a DSC (NTEZSH) can determine the thermal conductivity of solid and liquid samples. Finally rheological characterization includes a Rheometer (TA Instrumetns) [Torque resolution 0.1 nN·m; Displacement resolution 2.5·10-8 rad]