The main activities of this laboratory consist in:

• Chemical-physical characterisation of fuels, catalysts and residues
• Analysis and optimisation of technology for combined production of heat and electricity
• Characterisation and prototype development of pyrolysis and gasification reactors, as well as innovative filtering systems
• On-site monitoring and diagnostics of pyrolysis and gasification systems

Research Focus

The main area of research is energy production from biomass – through traditional processes such as combustion as well as innovative ones like pyrolysis, gasification and torrefaction. The entire processing chain is covered, from characterisation of fuels and fuel residues to process optimisation of combined heat, district heating and power systems for both pilot and productive systems.

Main Instrumentation

Sample Preparation (Cutting Mill)

• Pulverisette 19 (Fritsch) with cyclone separator

Thermal Analysis

• STA 449 F3 (Netzsch) coupled to a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR Tensor 27, Bruker)
• DSC 200 F3 Maya (Netzsch)

Thermal Diffusivity

• LFA 447 NanoFlash (Netzsch)

Gas Composition

• Micro GC Rack R-3000 (SRA Instruments) equipped with: a MOLSIEVE column for detection of H2, N2, O2, CO, CH4; a PLOT U column for detection of CO2, C2’s, C3’s, H2S

• Micro GC 490 Agilent (SRA Instruments) equipped with: a MOLSIEVE column for detection of H2, N2, O2, CO, CH4; a PoraPLOT U column for detection of CO2, C2’s, C3’s, H2S; a CP Sil 5 CB column for detection of high molecular weight hydrocarbons (C3-C9); a CPWAX 52 CB column for detection of BTX

Tar Content

• 2 tar sampling systems complying with UNI CEN/TS 15439:2008

Elemental Composition

• Vario MACRO Cube, CHNS-O version with Cl module (Elementar)

Calorific Value

• C 200 (IKA)

Surface analysis, macro and micro-pore size distribution, specific surface are (BET)

• 3Flex 3500 (Micromeritics)

 Pyrolysis and Gasification Tests

• 2 batch reactors of different sizes for analysis of thermochemical conversion processes (micro/meso scale)
• open-top gasifier (Betel), for gasification tests (pilot scale, 4 kW)

 Char bed reactor, for testing char filtering and catalytic effects.

 

Location

BZ E1.22 and BZ E1.23

Head

Marco Baratieri