P. Basinas

Cultivation and Characterization of Cynara Cardunculus for Solid Biofuels Production in the Mediterranean Region

Technical specifications of solid biofuels are continuously improved towards the development and promotion of their market. Efforts in the Greek market are limited, mainly due to the climate particularity of the region, which hinders the growth of suitable biofuels. Taking also into account the increased oil prices and the high inputs required to grow most annual crops in Greece, cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is now considered the most important and promising sources for solid biofuel production in Greece in the immediate future. The reason is that cardoon is a perennial crop of Mediterranean origin, well adapted to the xerothermic conditions of southern Europe, which can be utilized particularly for solid biofuel production. This is due to its minimum production cost, as this perennial weed may perform high biomass productivity on most soils with modest or without any inputs of irrigation and agrochemicals. Within this framework, the present research work is focused on the planning and analysis of different land use scenarios involving this specific energy crop and the combustion behaviour characterization for the solid products. Such land use scenarios are based on quantitative estimates of the cropsproduction potential under specific soil-climatic conditions as well as the inputs required for its realization in comparison to existing conventional crops. Concerning its decomposition behaviour, devolatilisation and char combustion tests were performed in a non-isothermal thermogravimetric analyser (TA Q600). A kinetic analysis was applied and accrued results were compared with data already available for other lignocellulosic materials. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the decomposition process of cardoon follows the degradation of other lignocellulosic fuels, meeting high burnout rates. This research work concludes that Cynara cardunculus, under certain circumstances, can be used as a solid biofuel of acceptable quality.

CO2 and SO2 Capture Capability of Two Greek Limestones

Carbon dioxide has been identified as the major greenhouse gas contributing to global climate change. As a result, various processes are being explored that would allow CO2 to be captured and ultimately sequestered from processes, such as combustion, gasification, and steam methane reforming, where carbon dioxide is a major by-product. Use of amine solvents for CO2 capture, while common in industry, is expensive and unlikely to be feasible on a large scale. Looping cycles involving calcium sorbents, where CO2 is released at high temperature by calcinations and captured at lower temperature by carbonation, are of particular interest. However, evidence has shown that the ability of the sorbents to maintain their utilization over repeated cycles is quite limited.