Abstract:
The impacts of fossil energy on the climate and
environment emphasize the need for alternative energy resources. The
use of waste wood is one such method to potentially reduce fossil-based
energy dependence. However, raw biomass fuel properties are generally
poor and unpredictable, thus requiring pretreatment to maximize their
energy potentials for an efficient conversion to syngas via pyrogasification. Two species of pine sawdust (PSD) wastes generated in
abundance from large-scale timber industries in Nigeria and South Africa
were investigated for improvements in their fuel properties after
torrefaction. Samples were torrefied under optimum conditions of 300
°C and 45 min. Different analytical procedures show that the higher
heating value (HHV), enhancement factor, energy density, and solid yield
of the Nigerian PSD exceeded those of their South African counterpart by
2.38, 5.37, 3.49, and 11.15%, respectively. The HHV of the torrefied fuels
increased by 57.29 and 37.9% for the Nigerian and South African PSDs, respectively, when compared to the raw fuels. Also
investigated were improvements in their H/C and O/C ratios and thermal degradation at varied heating rates.
