2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Study of small methanol conversion system for biomass resources
| Project/Area Number |
13650236
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Thermal engineering
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| Research Institution | Fukui University of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
IKEGAMI Makoto Fukui University of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Eng., Professor, 工学部, 教授 (70025914)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MIZUSHIMA Kazuhiro Fukui University of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Eng., Professor, 工学部, 教授 (30288336)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2001 – 2002
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| Keywords | Biomass / Methanol synthesis / Thermo-chemical conversion / Flow reactor tube / Reciprocating synthesis engine / Catalyst |
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| Research Abstract |
Unused biomass resources and organic substance in solid wastes may be utilized as liquid fuels for motor vehicles once they are converted into liquid fuels. The utilization of such fuels favors reducing consumption of fossil fuels and global warming. With this background, fundamental studies were carried out to build a small thermo-chemical methanol production system that used biomass-derived materials. At first, pyrolysis of biomass and production of hydrogen and carbon monoxide were dealt with using thermodynamics based on chemical equilibrium. Second, kinetic analysis was made for methanol synthesis using a flow reactor in which model gases were fed at a high pressure, the products being analyzed by gas chromatograph. Last, a new methanol production engine was proposed. This engine relies on the combination of reciprocating compressors and reciprocating expanders.
Obtained results are summarized as follows : Gas produced by pyrolysis of dry biomass requires water addition to obtain gas mixture for methanol synthesis. Solid-carbon formation during pyrolysis is predicted for a variety of the gas mixtures. Optimum conditions for methane synthesis are experimentally determined for the case of ordinary Cu-Zn catalyst. Yield of methanol reaches maximum at 250℃ irrespective of the pressure in the reactor and increases as the pressure increases. At a correct residence time, the yield may reach as high as 70%. Analysis shows the likelihood of the methanol production engine that may afford to achieve a high pressure and energy recovery.
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