Characterization of cellulosic wastes and gasification products from chicken farms.
The current article focuses on gasification as a primary disposal solution for cellulosic wastes derived from chicken farms, and the possibility to recover energy from this process. Wood shavings and chicken litter were characterized with a view to establishing their thermal parameters, compositional natures and calorific values. The main products obtained from the gasification of chicken litter, namely, producer gas, bio-oil and char, were also analysed in order to establish their potential as energy sources. The experimental protocol included bomb calorimetry, pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC), thermo-gravimetric analyses (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, elemental analyses, X-ray diffraction (XRD), mineral content analyses and gas chromatography. The mass and energy balances of the gasification unit were also estimated. The results obtained confirmed that gasification is a viable method of chicken litter disposal. In addition to this, it is also possible to recover some energy from the process. However, energy content in the gas-phase was relatively low. This might be due to the low energy efficiency (19.6%) of the gasification unit, which could be improved by changing the operation parameters.
School of the Built Environment and the Built Environment Research Institute, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK. p.joseph@ulster.ac.uk
Paul
P
Joseph
Svetlana
S
Tretsiakova-McNally
Siobhan
S
McKenna
D000818:Animals; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D002645:Chickens; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D014866:Waste Products
D005740:Gases; D014866:Waste Products; D002482:Cellulose