An Investigation into the Impact of Reaction Temperature on Various Parameters during Torrefaction of Sugarcane Bagasse Relevant to Gasification

Torrefaction of sugarcane bagasse was conducted in an electric muffle furnace at 200, 250, and 300°C in order to establish the impact of heat treatment temperature on various parameters and as a method to improve sugarcane bagasse characteristics for the purpose of gasification. The results show that weight loss of bagasse reduced as temperature of torrefaction increased due to excessive devolatilization. A reduced moisture and volatile matter content as well as improved calorific value were also achieved with increasing temperature of torrefaction. The torrefaction progress was again followed by elemental analysis of the material which showed the presence of C, H, and O in varying proportions depending on torrefaction temperature. The decrease in the weight percentages of O2 and H2 as torrefaction reaction temperature increased resulted in the accumulation of C in the solid product. The thermogravimetric analysis conducted established the maximum reactivity temperature of the torrefied material and revealed that the degradation of torrefied sugarcane bagasse was accelerated by thermal treatment of the material prior to analysis. Finally, the study established that torrefaction at 300°C led to a much more degraded material compared to the lower torrefaction reaction temperatures of 200 and 250°C, respectively.