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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Bioproducts Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #301180
Title: Torrefaction of agricultural by-products: Effects of temperature and time on energy yields

Author
item Chiou, Bor-Sen
item Bilbao-Sainz, Cristina
item Valenzuela-Medina, Diana
item Klamczynski, Artur
item Milczarek, Rebecca
item Avena-Bustillos, Roberto
item Du, Wen-Xian
item Glenn, Gregory - Greg
item Imam, Syed
item Orts, William

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/6/2013
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Agricultural by-products, such as apple, grape, olive, and tomato pomaces as well as almond and walnut shells, were torrefied at different temperatures and times. Torrefaction of biomass involves heating in an inert atmosphere to remove volatile components for improved grindability and increased energy density. Raw tomato pomace had the highest gross calorific value due to its high lignin and fat contents. At lower torrefaction temperatures, caloric values generally increased with torrefaction time. However, at higher torrefaction temperatures, caloric values remained relatively constant at different torrefaction times. For almond shells, an increase in torrefaction temperature resulted in lower solid energy yields, but higher caloric values of condensable gases.