Investigation of the Pyrolysis of Animal Manure in a Laboratory-Scale Tubular Reactor: The Effect of the Process Temperature and Residence Time

Abstract

This paper focuses on the pyrolysis of animal manure in a laboratory-scale tubular reactor between 300 and 900°C at nitrogen flow rates of 1 and 5 dm3/h. During the experiments, it was found that both the temperature and nitrogen flow rate had significant effects on the product yields and compositions. The highest gas yield and syngas content were observed at 900°C at a nitrogen flow rate of 1 dm3/h. In this case, since the gaseous product was characterized by a H2/CO ratio of 0:5, its quality must be improved prior to being used for synthesis. The composition of the solid residue was also affected by the pyrolysis parameters. Based on the hydrogen/carbon and oxygen/carbon ratios, it was concluded that both the water-gas shift and Boudouard reactions were the most critical.