Selection of Pyrolysis Systems

The selection of a reactor for a specific pyrolysis application requires consideration of several factors application of the final product, desired heat transfer 

Example 1. Suppose you are the engineer responsible for the design of a new fast pyrolysis reactor. For each situation given, please suggest an appropriate reactor type  

Example 2. Western forests in the United States have been victims of severe attacks by the Mountain Pine Beetle in recent years. It is desired to convert dead trees into bio-oil via fast pyrolysis in mobile units. Suggest a reactor type for that conversion. 

Answer For this specific simation, a mobile unit goes into the forest and carries out fast pyrolysis near the site of death. Given that a mobile reactor is always a small-scale unit and grinding biomass could be problematic in this case, an ablative reactor would be a good choice here. Dr. Resende at the University of Washington is currently developing an ablative system to cany out pyrolysis of beetle-killed trees. 

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