D2.1 Physicochemical sheet for the biomass feedstock

This document corresponds to the technical report “Physicochemical sheet for the biomass feedstock”. (Deliverable 2.1). The report contains the INCAR-CSIC results of the exhaustive analysis of six samples (bio-wastes from industrial wastewaters) considered as possible raw materials for the subsequent development of this project. Moreover, the overall information gathered in this report with be used to assess the experimental conditions to be defined in subsequent FLEXBY tasks. Two of the samples were supplied by A4F, a consortium partner in charge of sample delivery. Given the intrinsic fossil nature of the oily sludge samples from GALP, these residues were replaced by the following bio-based alternatives: 2 samples from the macroalgae industry and 2 samples from the dairy industry. These samples were distributed directly by INCAR-CSIC. The samples were fully characterized in terms of water content, ultimate analysis (C, H, N, S, O), ash content, volatile matter content, chlorine and potassium content, heating value, ash melting point, themogravimetric analysis and dielectric properties. The volatile content and its thermogravimetric analysis were also analyzed to fully characterize the feedstocks and determine the temperatures at which the thermal process should be carried out. The second section of the report (2. Experimental section) specifies the ISO/EN or ASTM standards used in each test, while section five (5. References) lists these standards. The results provide evidence surrounding the suitability of the samples to be used as raw materials in this project. Four of the wastes (Feedstock 1, 2, 5, 6) contained high carbon content in the range of 40-54%, low-moderate ash content in the range of 1324% and high volatile content in the range of 60-80%. The other two wastes (Feedstock 3 & 4) had a chemical composition which makes them less suitable for the project purpose. This was due to their low carbon content (18% and 28%) and their high ash content (60% and 41%). The results of the thermogravimetric testing on the wastes indicated that the optimal temperature for microwave pyrolysis should be 600°C or above. In terms of dielectric properties, all samples showed effective absorption of microwave energy, suggesting that the samples are suitable for use in microwave pyrolysis.