TGA-MS studies of the pyrolysis of corn stover for charcoal production
Author(s)
Corrales Sanchez, Tachmajal Marie![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/105030/959608491-MIT.pdf.jpg?sequence=3&isAllowed=y)
DownloadFull printable version (5.658Mb)
Alternative title
Themogravimetric analysis combined with online mass spectrometry studies of the pyrolysis of corn stover for charcoal production
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor
Gwyndaf Jones.
Terms of use
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
More than two billion people worldwide rely on wood-based fuels for their daily energy needs, which can produce toxic atmospheric contaminants and cause environmental degradation. MIT D-Lab addresses this challenge with "Fuel from the Fields", a simple technique for making charcoal from agricultural waste. In this work, Themogravimetric analysis combined with online mass spectrometry (TGA-MS) was used to study the pyrolysis of corn agricultural waste with the aim of improving understanding of the carbonization process. Non-isothermal mass loss data from TGA was obtained for three types of corn waste, cobs, husks, and stalks; and used to calculate proximate analysis in terms of moisture, volatile matter, and charcoal content. TGA-MS data for the three materials was used to understand the emissions of H20, CO, H2S and C4H2 as a function of temperature. Activation energy, Ea, and pre-exponential factor, A, were calculated using the first order global single reaction model for corn cobs and husks. TG-DTG data suggested that corn cobs are better suited feedstocks for charcoal production. Mass Spectroscopy was found to successfully characterize emissions. For corn cobs, A = 1.3. 105 s-1 and E, = 88.6 kJ/mol, while for husks A = 5.2. 105 s-1 and Ea = 96.4 kJ/mol. Based on this work, a carbonization burn timeline worksheet was created to aid monitoring of char yield in the field.
Description
Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 61-64).
Date issued
2016Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical EngineeringPublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Mechanical Engineering.