TUBITAK – Bioenergy Research and Technology Development Infrastructure
TA49 – TUBITAK-TU BIOTHEC
Location
Barış Mahallesi Dr. Zeki Acar Cd. No:1 Gebze
41470 Kocaeli, Turkey
Description
The Bioenergy research and technology development infrastructure located in TUBITAK Marmara Research Centre premises aims to enable research and innovation to increase the utilisation of bioenergy in the energy system to support climate neutrality with sustainable aviation fuels, CO2 capture and utilisation, hydrogen, marine fuels, heating/cooling and industrial processes (iron and steel, refinery and cement). In addition, Research and Development (R&D) projects are carried out to contribute to replace petroleum-based products and advanced carbon structures with renewable products using biomass based technologies. Thermochemical conversion processes torrefaction, pyrolysis and gasification are the main routes for lignocellulosic biomass and hydrothermal processes (HTC and HTL) for aquatic or aqueous biomass to obtain hydrogen, biocrudes and bioenergy carriers, and biomaterials. The infrastructure is capable of studying catalytic thermochemical processes and catalyst development for bioenergy applications, as well as chemical looping and CO2 utilisation and chemical synthesis.
The characterisation laboratory is furnished with TGA +FTIR, PTGA - MS, XRF, surface analysis, microscopes, ICP, and other solid and liquid fuels characterisation analytics. The TU-BIOTECH infrastructure enables innovative, customised and effective studies that increase long-term and consistent problem-solving and policy-making capacity on climate change, resource diversification and energy security. The infrastructure can be used for studying complete line-ups such as pyrolysis to sustainable aviation fuels or gasification to advance materials synthesis, CO2
Testing Capabilities
- Entrained flow, fixed bed and bubbling bed gasification of biomass with different feed stocks and gasification media (CO2, steam, O2, air)
- Torrefaction of biomass
- Catalytic/non-catalytic fast and slow pyrolysis of biomass for biocrude or biochar production
- Chemical looping combustion and gasification
- Pelletisation and briquetting of different biomass samples (can be combine with torrefaction/pyrolysis/gasification)
- Pressurised oxy-combustion
- Catalytic/non-catalytic hydrothermal carbonisation and liquefaction
- Syngas upgrading and chemical synthesis
- Bio-liquids upgrading
- Bio-gas and bio-liquids (tar) reforming
- CO2 capture after biomass conversion/reforming
- CO2 utilisation with renewable hydrogen to methane - methanol
- New bio-based/conventional catalyst development of pyrolysis, reforming and synthesis processes
- Pressure swing adsorption studies including new adsorbent developments such as zeolites.
- Thermogravimetric studies for different materials
Technical Equipment
Some examples from our infrastructure are listed below:
Physical lab and pilot test infrastructure
- 40 kWth fixed bed gasification and gas cleaning system
- 20 kWth bubbling Fluidised bed gasification system
- 30 kWth pressurized bubbling fluidised bed oxy-combustion system
- 20 kWth entrained-bed gasification system
- Batch scale 4 kg chemical looping gasifier
- 1 kg/h torrefaction and pyrolysis system
- Batch scale 200 gr catalytic/non-catalytic pyrolysis system
- 1 kg/h rapid pyrolysis system for bio oil production
- Batch scale 100 gr microwave pyrolysis unit
- Batch scale 4 kg chemical looping gasifier
- 50 kg/h biomass pelletiser
- 50 kg/h biomass briquette machine
- 50 kg/h biomass grinder
- High pressure and temperature continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR, 1L capacity)
- Amine system for CO2 removal
- Batch scale 10 SLM CO2 adsorption system
- 100 SLM catalytic CO2 to methane reactor system
- 1 Sm3/h (gas/steam) Steam/Auto-thermal reformer System
- Pilot amine system for CO2 Removal
- Fixed-bed reactors for sulfur removal, granular and metal filters for particulate removal and scrubber systems for syngas cleaning
- Pilot PSA system for syngas purification
Lab equipment and analysis:
- Proximate analysis (moisture, volatile matter, ash, fixed carbon)
- Calorific value determination (LHV,HHV) ultimate analysis (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur)
- Ash fusion temperature determination
- Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP-OES)
- XRF equipment (Bruker)
- Gas chromatographs for syngas, sulfurous components, tar components characterization, (GC- MS (Perkin Elmer), GC-SCD and NCD (Perkin Elmer), GC FID TCD (Perkin Elmer))
- Online gas chromatographs for syngas, CO2, N2, O2, C1-C6 hydrocarbons analysis (Agilent)
- Gas chromatographs for C7-C40 hydrocarbons characterisation (Agilent)
- Composition analysis of natural gas and gases with unknown content (GC FID TCD (Agilent))
- Catalyst activity tests in multiple catalyst testing system (High Through Put (HTP))
- UV fluorescence analyser for total sulfur detection
- On-line FTIR (Gasmet DX-4000)
- Online gas analysers for flue gas and syngas (ABB AO 2000)
- DS/CEN/TS 15439 “Biomass gasification – tar and particles in product gases – sampling and analysis” infrastructure
- Atmospheric TGA-FTIR equipment (Netzsch STA 449 F 3 Jupiter TGA- Bruker Tensor II TGA-IR)
- Pressurised TGA-MS equipment (Dyntherm MSB-IPI MS)
- Surface and catalyst characterisation system (Micromeritics 3 Flex)
- Particle size and zeta potential analyzer (Mastersizer)
- Helium pycnometer (micromeritics)
- Optical microscope with fossil software (Zeiss Axio Imager M2M)
- Pressurised Reactor System (PARR) (500 mL, 500 °C, 325 bar)
- Intelligent Gas Sorption Analyzer - IGA (Hiden Isochema)
- Reactor system with online mass spectrometer
Additional information
Technology Readiness Level: 4-6
Special considerations: N/A
Technology clusters: Biofuels, Hydrogen
Website: http://mam.tubitak.gov.tr
Availability: All year
Provision of tools to prepare data sets in a FAIR way: Yes
