02
Bioenergy

Biomass Conversion

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Mainstream develops transportable pyrolysis reactors to convert lignocellulosic waste biomass and mixed waste to pyrolysis bio-oil. Moreover, we sell small 1 kg/hr benchtop pyrolysis systems to universities and laboratories engaged in biomass research. We also operate a 1 ton/day pilot reactor at our Rockledge, Florida facility. The pilot-scale reactor was developed for government applications, providing on-site renewable energy generation to improve energy security.
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Most small-scale reactors operate by batch processing or handle minimal amounts of feedstock material. As a result, designing, building, and commissioning a custom bench-scale process can be highly time-consuming and costly. Mainstream has eliminated the inherent risk by developing a pyrolysis test platform and is offering the industry a standard system capable of process optimization, bio-oil upgrading, and bio-oil collection testing and research.

Mainstream’s continuous, bench-scale pyrolysis unit provides a reliable test platform for pyrolysis research. The biomass feedstock optimizes the fluidized bed reactor yielding bio-oil of 65%. This system ultimately provides the researcher the ultimate control and flexibility of process parameters (e.g., temperature, residence time) and bio-oil separation and collection.

Fluidized Bed Pyrolysis Reactor
It generates high bio-oil yields with biomass and mixed waste.
Continuous, 2 lb/h with controlled reactor and heated zone control

Two-stage cyclone separators
Efficient separation of pyrolysis char byproduct
Multi-stage condensers
Fraction condensation of bio-oil product
Touchscreen HMI
Automated control of pyrolysis conditions and process parameters. Fluidizing gas flow, reactor temperature, heated zone control, and user-programmable

Table 1. Properties of Bio-oil from Bench-Scale Pyrolysis Unit

Property100% Pine80% Pine: 20% Polystyrene
Temperature500500
Flow-Rate (L/min)17.017.0
Residence Time (sec)0.730.73
Density (g/ml)1.201.14
Moisture Content, wt%18.115.0
Elemental Analysis, Wet Basis
C45.671.6
H5.05.0
O49.423.4
Elemental Analysis, Dry Basis
C55.784.2
H3.63.9
O40.711.9
ph1.391.42
Heating Value20.019.9

Table 2. Properties of Char from Bench-Scale Pyrolysis Unit

Proximate AnalysisComposition (wt%)
Moisture2.27 - 6.03
Volatile Matter15.54
Fixed Carbon61.76
Ash20.43
Ultimate Analysis
Carbon68.0 - 82.7
Hydrogen3.31
Nitrogen1.79
Sulfur0.04
Oxygen4.12
HHV25.5 - 29.7
Ash Constituents
Calcium, CaO38.50
Potassium, K2016.50
Silica, SiO212.00
Aluminum, AL20311.52
Magnesium, MgO9.64
Phosphorus, P2024.67
Ferric, Fe2022.04
Sulfur, S031.39
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ref.
Schwartz, Nicholas. “PyNe 45.” Task 34: Direct Thermochemical Liquefaction, Dec. 2019, https://task34.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/12/PyNe-45_final.pdf.
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Operating Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST
Contact: Send us an email – info@mainstream-engr.com
Phone:  321-631-3550