REC-PARK
TA12 – KIT-RE-CORD-RECPARK
Location
Via di pianvallico 4
50038 Scarperia e San Piero, Italy
Description
Detailed description of the research infrastructure (RI)
RE-CORD's key facilities are the chemical-analytical laboratory (LAB) and an experimental area hosting pilot plant for a number of thermochemical and biochemical processes (REC-PARK). Both facilities are located in Scarperia e San Piero, a stone's throw from Florence, Italy, and can be easily accessed by public transportation or by car. Within the domain of biofuels and intermediate energy carriers, the RI allows for the execution of a large number of tests and experimental campaigns in real-world conditions for processes such as slow pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, and anaerobic digestion while monitoring products' quality and properties.
Description of assets/equipment
The key equipment available for experimental activities include a hydrothermal liquefaction plant rated for subcritical conditions and up to 2 lt/h of slurry flow, a continuous auger pyrolysis unit rated for 1-5 kg/h of feed, including a condensation train for pyrogas, and an indirectly-fired rotary kiln rated for up to 100 kg/h feedstock. A number of ancillary equipment allows for screening, milling, and pelletizinge feedstock and products to suit the need of the specific experimental activity.
The services offered for testing/experiments include:
- solid and liquid biofuels characterisation
- production of intermediate energy carriers (hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) oil, pyrolysis oil)
- production and upgrading of biochar/char from biomass and waste
- anaerobic digestion of substrates
- test campaigns in own plants and pilots (batch/continuous)
Brief description of the organization
RE-CORD is an ISO 9001 certified, private, independent, non-profit research organization based in Florence, Italy. Founded in 2010, RE-CORD is active in the fields of renewable energy, biomass and waste valorisation, biofuels production and use, and technologies for thermochemical conversion of biomass and waste.
RE-CORD’s member base includes public and private entities, including the Polytechnic of Turin, the University of Florence and a diverse range of companies in the fields of renewable energy, waste management, agriculture and forest management.
By statute, members haves neither priority access to the results of the activities, nor can receive income originated from operations, which must be re-invested within the organisation.
RE-CORD is composed of a trans-disciplinary team of 23 people, including engineers, tropical agronomists, biotechnologists and chemists, working along the entire value chain of biomass analysis and conversion into energy, products (including biochar), soil amendments and fertilisers, recycling of raw materials, techno-economic assessment.
RE-CORD has conceived, engineered, constructed and operated several pilot and demonstration plants in the field of pyrolysis, from a wide range of technologies and processes like torrefaction, slow pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, oxidative pyrolysis and gasification.
Safety and health conditions and any other special requirement for the use of the RI
Use of laboratory instrumentation, workshop equipment and pilot plants is contingent to appropriate training and valid health and safety insurance coverage.
Testing Capabilities
The facility allows for the carrying-out of experimental campaigns in pilot plant of processes such as slow pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, anaerobic digestion, including evaluation of products' and effluents' properties.
Technical Equipment
Main instrumentation:
- gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC-FID))
- High pressure liquid chromatograph (HPLC)
- Ion chromatograph (IC)
- Ultraviolet–visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer
- Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FTIR) spectrometer
- Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (for heavy metals, trace elements concentration including cadmium at detection level 2 ppm)
- bomb calorimeter, elemental analyser (CHN-S)
- thermogravimetric analyser (TGA)
- specific surface area analyser (BET)
- oxidation stability analyser (Petroxy),
- micro GC for gas analysis
- combustion gas analyser (PM, O2, CO, NO/NOx, TOC, SO2)
- standard laboratory equipment for sample preparation and conditioning (milling, drying, sieving)
Pilot Plants:
- 2 lt/h continuous hydrothermal liquefaction unit, subcritical conditions, adjustable residence time.
- 1-5 kg/h slow pyrolysis unit (electrically heated auger), 5-60 min residence time, T up to 600 °C, including pyrogas condensation
- 30-100 kg/h slow pyrolysis unit (externally heated rotary kiln, heat provided by pyrogas combustion), 40-120 min residence time, T up to 600 °C, optionally pyrogas condensation on split-stream, equipped with combustion chamber for pyrogas and measurement of emission at stack
- GPU-derived GTP 30-67 micro gas turbine, up to 25 kW electrical load
- batch char leaching plant for biochar/char washing/upgrading
- semi batch anaerobic digestor (1 m3 gross volume)
Additional information
Technology Readiness Level: 4-6
Special considerations: Training for operations of , health and insurance coverage required to take part to experiments
Technology clusters: Biofuels
Website: http://www.re-cord.org
Availability: The availability of pilots and lab equipment is subject to schedule of activities at the time of request, please enquire beforehand. During Company holidays (2 weeks in August, first and last week of the year) the premises are not manned.
Provision of tools to prepare data sets in a FAIR way: No
