Pyrolytic characteristics of microalgae as renewable energy source determined by thermogravimetric analysis

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Pyrolytic characteristics of microalgae as renewable energy source determined by thermogravimetric analysis

Weimin Peng, Qingyu Wu, , Pingguan Tu and Nanming Zhao Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China

Publisher / Journal: Bioresource Technology Volume 80, Issue 1 , October 2001, Pages 1-7

Received 18 December 2000; revised 9 April 2001; accepted 10 April 2001. Available online 2 August 2001.

Abstract

Two kinds of autotrophic microalgae, Spirulina platensis (SP) and Chlorella protothecoides (CP) were pyrolyzed at the heating rates of 15, 40, 60 and 80°C/min up to 800°C in a thermogravimetric analyzer to investigate their pyrolytic characteristics. Three stages (dehydration, devolatilization and solid decomposition) appeared in the pyrolysis process. SP and CP mainly devolatilized at 190–560°C and 150–540°C, respectively. A total volatile yield of about 71% was achieved from each microalga. As the heating rate increased, a lateral shift to higher temperatures was observed in their thermograms, and the instantaneous maximum and average reaction rates in the devolatilization stage were increased while the activation energy was decreased. The value of activation energy for CP pyrolysis was 4.22–5.25×104, lower than that of SP (7.62–9.70×104), and the char in final residue of CP was 14.00–15.14%, less than that of SP by 2–3%. This indicated that CP is preferable for pyrolysis over SP. The experimental results may provide useful data for the design of pyrolytic processing systems using planktonic microalgae as feedstock.

Keywords: Spirulina platensis; Chlorella protothecoides; Pyrolysis; Bio-fuel

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