North Carolina State University is a landGrant university and a constituent institution
of The University of North Carolina
Department of Wood and Paper Science
NC STATE UNIVERSITY
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP)
Pyrolysis Reactor
Location: 104, Hodges Wood Products Laboratory
Contact:
Sunkyu Park, sunkyu_park@ncsu.edu, 919-515-0473
Jiajia Meng, jmeng@ncsu.edu, 919-802-1803
Only fully trained and authorized personnel are permitted to use the pyrolysis reactor.
CAUTION
Chemical Hazard, Possible Electric Shock, Possible Hot Temperature Hazard, Explosion
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High pressure nitrogen gas cylinders can be dangerous if mishandled. Nitrogen gas
used in this experiment is under high pressure and dropping a cylinder can result in
injury and property damage.
Pyrolysis process usually involves high temperature (450-600C). Any contact with
the main reactor or even the heat shield of the reactor may result in burn, therefore
make sure that you do not touch the main reactor when pyrolysis process is
undergoing.
High voltage electrical precipitator are applied in the experiment, therefore
potential electric shock might be possible to the operator. Do not touch electrical
precipitator during the operation.
This reactor generates bio-oils, which contain many different chemicals. Read
MSDS for handling and storage of these chemicals.
Standard Operating Procedure
1) Wear protective glass.
2) Cover the reactor shield with aluminum foil so as to reduce the heat loss.
3) Check the linkage of the entire pyrolyzer.
4) Check nitrogen pressure on gauge. It should have enough volume to supply the whole
process.
5) Open the nitrogen valve and adjust the speed of nitrogen flow for feeding system and
reactor respectively. Check if there is any leakage from the whole reactor.
6) Power on the pyrolyzer.
7) Start the circulator providing cooling liquid for the condenser(s).
8) Initiate the heater and set the temperature to the designated one. Max temperature is
600C for this system.
9) Start the motor and feed biomass powder into the receiver when the temperature reached
the desired one. The recommended speed for motor is 40 rpm/min and the recommended
feeding speed is 200g/h. Recommended biomass particle size is between 40-60 mesh
with less than 15% moisture content.
10) Initiate the precipitator and set the electricity currency and voltage to 10kV.
11) Keep feeding biomass at a constant speed and maintain the temperature of the reactor at
the designated one.
12) Turn off the heater, motor and precipitator when your desired amount of bio-oil has been
condensed. Do not leave any biomass particle in the motor.
13) Cool down the reactor and collect the bio-oil from the flask connected to first condenser
and from the flask connected to the precipitator for further analysis.
14) Turn off the circulator and nitrogen gas.
15) Clean the flask, condenser and precipitator.
16) Clean the sample feeding system with high pressure air.
17) Change the sand in the reactor if necessary.
18) Install the liquid collecting system when flask, condenser and precipitator are dried.