Solar Mild Carbonization (Torrefaction) Characteristics of Solid Olive Mill Residue With a Solar Furnace

Solar energy and biomass are two attractive renewable energy resources which gained special interest in recent years. However, problems like storage are preventing efficient and cheap utilization of solar energy and biomass. Mild carbonization which is also known as torrefaction; is a thermochemical pretreatment method for biomass which changes the structure of raw biomass and yields more energy denser solid fuel. Besides increasing the energy density, torrefaction results with a hydrophobic fuel that can be stored for longer periods without degradation. In this thesis, torrefaction characteristics of Solid Olive Mill Residue (SOMR) were investigated. Also, effect of torrefaction on carbonization characteristics of SOMR is studied. Results obtained from torrefaction experiments showed that SOMR is very suitable type of biomass for torrefaction process. SOMR is mainly produced in Mediterranean Basin which enjoys abundance of solar energy. This fact motivated solar torrefaction experiments with SOMR. A solar furnace; which named ―parabolic dish solar torreffier‖ is designed and tested. Solar torrefaction experiments revealed that solar torrefaction results with more value added solid fuel similar to torrefaction process. This study is also important because of demonstrating that, solar energy can be used to produce a transportable solid fuel, rather than Hydrogen.