Diseño de una planta para la producción de biocarbón industrial, a partir de cascaras de cacao por torrefacción húineda

Abstract

The aim of this work is to design an industrial plant to produce biochar from cocoa pod husk through wet torrefaction. The production of biochar as fuel was proposed to promote the development and consumption of renewable energy sources in the country. The process begins with the reduction of the size of the husks to a particle size with a standard 35 mesh number. Then it is mixed with water until a homogeneous suspension is obtained in a 1 : 10 biomass -water ratio. The suspension is preheated until to 180 °C is reached. The suspension enters the reactor, and the reaction is carried out at 270 °C and 5.6 Mpa. The resulting reactor mixture is depressurized to 120 °C, and steam is recovered and recirculated back to the preheater. The final mixture is filtered to separate the liquid fraction from the solid fraction and recover the biochar, which enters a dryer to remove excess water. The biochar is pelletized to obtain a solid fuel that is easy to transport. The plant operates 6 turns per day, 7 days a week; an investment of USD 6 943 540.16 is required with a product sale price of USD 636.34/t; thus, the project is viable since the NPV, and IRR fmancial indicators are favorable with a payback time of 4.49 years