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EnergyProcedia
Procedia136 (2017) 000–000
00 (2017) 463–467
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

4th International Conference on Energy and Environment Research, ICEER 2017, 17-20 July
2017, Porto, Portugal

Green bio-oil
Theobtained fromSymposium
15th International digestedonsewage sludge:
District Heating new substitute
and Cooling
bio-fuel to diesel oil in thermoelectric plants
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
temperature function
Glaucia for aa,*,long-term
E. G. Vieira district
Fernanda Rêgo a
, Luanaheat demand
F. Teixeira a
forecast
a
LEDBIO (Testing and Development Laboratory on Biomass and Biofuels, Federal University of Tocantins), Quadra 109 Norte, Avenida NS-15,
a,b,c a a b c c
I. Andrić *, A. Pina , P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Corre
ALCNO-14, 77001-090 Palmas, Brazil

a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
b
Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
c
Abstract Département Systèmes Énergétiques et Environnement - IMT Atlantique, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, 44300 Nantes, France

This study aims to take advantage of the residual sludge generated in sewage treatment plants (STP) for production of bio-oil fuel
in order to apply it in thermoelectric plants by reducing the impacts on power generation. The sewage sludge was subjected to the
Abstract
process of pyrolysis in a fixed-bed reactor for the production of bio-oil. The average of yield of bio-oil was 10.52-18.38% (m/m).
The analysis of bio-oil showed pH 8.35, density 0.97 g cm-3 and higher calorific value 32.36 MJ kg-1, the mixture 1:1 bio-
District presented
oil/diesel heating networks
calorificare commonly
value 41.41 MJaddressed in the 0.94
kg-1 and density literature
g cm-3as. one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
©sales.
2017 Due to the changed
The Authors. Publishedclimate conditions
by Elsevier Ltd. and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
prolonging the investment return period.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 4th International Conference on Energy and Environment
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
Research.
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
buildingsBio-oil;
Keywords: that vary in both
pyrolysis; construction
renewable energy;period
sewage and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
sludge
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
1.The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
Introduction
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
Fossil fuels are potentially polluting and finite; studies with biomass as renewable resource for energy production
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
are of theinutmost
decrease relevance.
the number In this
of heating context,
hours municipal
of 22-139h during solid waste,season
the heating especially sewage
(depending on sludge generatedofby
the combination sewage
weather and
treatment
renovationplants (STP),
scenarios has shown
considered). considerable
On the other hand,potential as feedstock
function intercept to beforapplied
increased in thermochemical
7.8-12.7% processes
per decade (depending on the
such as pyrolysis
coupled scenarios).forThe
thevalues
production of biofuels
suggested could be[1,2].
used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
The production
improve the accuracyof sewage
of heat demandsludge, coupled with the population growth, industrialization, and the trend of
estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
Cooling.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-63-98418-6427; fax: +55-63-3214-6427.
E-mail address:glauciaeliza@mail.uft.edu.br
Keywords: Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 4th International Conference on Energy and Environment
Research.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 4th International Conference on Energy and Environment
Research.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.10.304
464 Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 136 (2017) 463–467
Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

universalization of basic sanitation services worldwide, tends to increase in such a way that the traditional
applications of final management for this residue will be unviable economically and environmentally [3].
Different destinations are used for the sludge generated in sewage treatment plants, between these processes are
included: landfill, agricultural use, aerobic digestion, incineration and composting. However, the thermochemical
processes are considered one of the most promising ways in order to recover the potential energy through the
products obtained from the sewage sludge. Among the thermochemical processes, pyrolysis is the thermal
decomposition carried out in the absence of oxygen, producing four fractions: aqueous liquid, organic liquid (bio-
oil), solid and gaseous [4].
Bio-oil production in this process has aroused significant interest due to its high potential for obtaining chemicals
products and use as biofuel for energy production [5-7]. According to [8], the fact that the sewage sludge is
abundant throughout the world makes the development of pyrolysis of this residue successful and of great interest.
Therefore, this study aims to characterize and assess the potential use of thedigested sludge as an alternative
source of fuel in power generation through the pyrolysis process, integrating the sustainable use of renewable
resources with the rational and efficient use of energy as well, producing a biofuel, called bio-oil green, which
features chemical and physico-chemical characteristics similar to petroleum products (diesel) and performstudies of
blends with diesel fuel for future replacement in thermoelectric plants.

2. Material and methods

2.1. Collection of sewage sludge

The digested sewage sludge used in this work, was ceded by a sewage treatment plant located in the city of Rio
de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil, as shown in Fig. 1, showing a moisture content of 7.45% (m/m).

Fig. 1. Sewage sludge (Source: LEDBIO).

2.2. Characterization of sewage sludge

The sewage sludge extracts, obtained from the extraction with Sohxlet using the solvents ethanol and hexane,
were characterized by the gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using helium with purity of
99.999% as a carrier gas, with flow in the column of 1 mL min-1, injector temperature 300 ºC, split injection, ratio
1:20, capillary column VF-5ms (30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 μm) and VF1-ms (15 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 μm). The
temperature program was: initial temperature of 40 °C, isotherm for 5 min, increased from 40 °C to 300 °C in 10 °C
min-1 and isotherm for 30 min.
 Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 136 (2017) 463–467 465
Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

2.3. Pyrolysis process to produce bio-oil

The pyrolysis of sewage sludge was carried out in a fixed bed reactor, schematically shown in Fig. 2, using the
following process: temperature 550 ºC, heating rate 10 ºC min-1 and time 120 min. The reactor operates in inert
environment, where the non-condensable generated gases leaked by the gas outlet and follow to a treatment system
consisting of three bottles of gas scrubbers. At the end of the process, the solid fraction retained inside of the quartz
tube is collected, and the liquid fraction, composed by the bio-oil and aqueous fraction, recovered through the
separating funnel.

Fig. 2. Scheme of the pyrolysis system: (1) nitrogen cylinder; (2) inert gas inlet; (3) quartz reactor tube; (4) oven; (5) condenser; (6) gas outlet;
(7) separating funnel; (8) gas scrubbers; and (9) gases outlet

2.4. Characterization of bio-oil

The density of the bio-oil was determined with the aid of a digital densitometer of the brand Anton Paar, the pH
of the bio-oil was obtained using a pH meter and the higher calorific value was determined using the calorimeter of
the brand IKA, with combustion was made in excess of O 2 and pressure of 20 to 30 atm.
The bio-oil was chemically characterized by the gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
using helium of 99.999% purity as a carrier gas, with flow in the column of 1 mL min-1, injector temperature 300 ºC,
split injection, 1:20, capillary column VF-5ms (30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 μm) and VF1-ms (15 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25
μm). The temperature program was: initial temperature of 40 °C, isotherm for 5 min, increased from 40 °C to 300
°C in 10 °C min-1 and isotherm for 30 min.

2.5. Diesel/Bio-oil Mixture

A mixture of diesel and bio-oil was made in the proportion of volume 1:1 and its density was determined using a
digital densitometer of the brand Anton Paar, and its higher calorific value using the calorimeter of the brand IKA.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Pyrolysis process to produce bio-oil

The bio-oil is composed of a diversity of organic substances whose physical and chemical properties are directly
related to the nature and composition of the original biomass, as the source of waste water, the treatment of waste
water purification, treatment of sewage sludge stabilization, and the time as well as the storage conditions of sewage
sludge [2,3]. The average yield of bio-oil pyrolysis process was 10.52 - 18.38% (m/m) when submitting the sewage
sludge to the pyrolysis process, under the conditions of this study.
The bio-oil was chemically characterized by the gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS),
466 Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 136 (2017) 463–467
Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

and made a comparison with the chemical composition of sewage sludge, raw material used in the production of the
bio-oil, through its alcoholic and hexane extracts, in order to relate the relative concentration of functional groups of
organic compounds present as oxygenated, hydrocarbons, nitrogenated, halogenated, mixed, identified in the sewage
sludge extracts, and after the pyrolysis process in the bio-oil obtained, as shown in Fig. 2.

100,00%
Relative concentration 80,00%
60,00%
40,00%
20,00% Alcohol extract
0,00% Hexane extract
Bio-oil

Group of Organic Compounds

Fig. 3. Relative concentration of organic compounds identified in the alcoholic and hexane extracts of sewage sludge and in the bio-oil

The chemical compounds were divided into five main groups, according to the chemical composition:
oxygenated, hydrocarbons, nitrogenated, mixed compounds (O, N) and halogenated. As we can see, after the
pyrolysis process, there has been an increase of hydrocarbons and reduction of oxygenated and halogenated
compounds in the bio-oil.
The physical-chemical analyses conducted in the bio-oil under study: density, pH and higher calorific value, are
important features of a biofuel, these are related to the effects caused on the pumping and injection system, corrosive
aspects and the amount of energy contained in a fuel. The results are presented in the Table 1. The bio-oil obtained
from the sewage sludge presented a higher calorific value (32.36 MJ kg-1) above what was found in others
lignocellulosic biomass, such as the rice hull (16.5 MJ kg-1) and the sugar cane residue (20.4 MJ kg-1) and the wood
biomass (16-19 MJ kg-1) [9].
Table 1. Density, pH and higher calorific value.
Analysis Bio-oil
Density (g cm-3) 0.97
pH 8.35
Higher calorific value (MJ kg-1) 32.36

3.2. Diesel/bio-oil Mixture

The results of the physical-chemical analysis performed on diesel/bio-oil mixture (1:1) are shown in Table 2. The
parameters of the mixture were compared with the density and higher calorific value of the diesel fuel and bio-oil.
The bio-oil green/diesel mixture (1:1) presented a superior higher calorific value when compared with the sample
of bio-oil natural, obtained from the pyrolysis process, and lower than that determined for the sample of diesel fuel.

Table 2. Density and higher calorific value of the diesel/bio-oil mixture (1:1), diesel fuel and bio-oil
Density Higher calorific value
Samples -3
(g cm ) (MJ kg-1)
Diesel/bio-oil 0.94 41.41
Diesel fuel 0.83 44.45
Bio-oil 0.97 32.36
 Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 136 (2017) 463–467 467
Glaucia E. G. Vieira et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

The comparative study of chemical and physic chemical characterization between the bio-oil natural obtained
from residual sludge and the bio-oil green/diesel mixture, showed an increase of the calorific value of the mixture,
as well as a similarity between the values of density, Table 2. These analyses indicate a framework of the results
obtained for levels of density and higher calorific value, for example, in the parameters determined by the national
agency of fuel and biofuel from Brazil (ANP) for the classification of fuel oils, generally applied tothermoelectric
plants in Brazil, indicating the possibility of replacement bythe bio-oil green/diesel mixturein the diesel fuel
traditionally used in thermoelectric plants currently in medium term, from the escalation of the ongoing research.

4. Conclusion

The determination of the chemical and physic-chemical characterization of the bio-oil obtained from the
thermochemical process applied to the residual sewage sludge and bio-oil green/diesel mixture, found no significant
difference between the results of density (g cm-3) and higher calorific value (MJ kg-1) of the samples under study,
standing out the increase of the higher calorific value of the bio-oil green/diesel mixture, providing an energy gain.
These initial studies, points to the replacement of the current energy matrix 100% fossil, which use the oil diesel in
the Brazilians thermoelectric plants, for another 50% fossil, based on the use of bio-oil green/diesel mixture, for
electric power generation, reducing the operating costs and environmental impacts. Moreover, the need for further
researches, in order to promote the development of pilot and industrial scale technology, and the introduction and
marketing of the final product on the market in the medium and long term.

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