ARS | Publication request: Pyrogasification of blended animal manures to produce combustable gas and biochar

Submitted to: International Symposium on Air Quality and Waste Management for Agriculture
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: September 13, 2010
Publication Date: September 13, 2010
Citation: Ro, K.S., Cantrell, K.B., Hunt, P.G. 2010. Pyrogasification of blended animal manures to produce combustable gas and biochar. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Air Quality and Manure Management for Agriculture, September 13-16, 2010, Dallas, Texas. 8 pp. 2010 CDROM.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of a skid-mounted pyrogasificaiton system for producing combustible gas from from animal manures: chicken litter, swine solids, and swine solids blended with rye grass. The skid-mounted pyrolysis system by the US Innovation Group, Inc. (USIG, Indianapolis, IN) is a proprietary thermo-chemical conversion system that can produce combustible gases from various carbon wastes such as auto shredder residuals (ASM), sewage sludge, municipal solid wastes (MWS), etc. Eight to 19 L of dried swine solids, chicken litter, and blended swine solids (29% rye and 79% swine solids, w/w) were pyrolyzed in the reactor at 620°C (893K) for two hours. Devolatilized gas was scrubbed by water with a venturi scrubber, compressed, and fed into the gas storage tank. The oil from the scrubbing water was separated and collected for later analysis. The scrubbing water retuned back to the recirculation tank for continual scrubbing. Gas, liquid, and solid end products from the USIG pyrolysis reactor system were collected and subsequently analyzed for their chemical and thermal properties. Gas, liquid, and solid end products from the pyrolysis reactor system were collected and subsequently analyzed for their chemical and thermal properties. Elemental mass and energy balances are performed to determine the efficacy of the system.