Transforming corn stover to useful transport fuel blends in resource-limited settings
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Energy Reports
Abstract
Development of local technologies is crucial to the sustainable energy agenda in resource-limited
countries and the world. Strengthening local green technologies and promoting local utilization
will reduce carbon emissions that could be generated during transportation and delivery of green
products from one country to another. In this paper we developed bio-oil/diesel blends using a
low-tech pyrolysis system designed for smallholder farmers in developing countries and tested
their appropriateness for diesel engines using standard ASTM methods. Corn stover retrieved from
smallholder farmers in Gayaza, Uganda were pyrolyzed in a batch rocket stove reactor at 350 ◦C and
liquid bio-oil harvested. Bio-oil chemical composition was analyzed by Gas Chromatography equipped
with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). Bio-oil/diesel emulsions in ternary concentrations 5%, 10% and
20% bio-oil weight were developed with 1% concentration of sorbitan monolaurate as an emulsifier.
The bio-oil/diesel emulsions and distillates had property ranges: specific gravities at 15 ◦C 827.4–830.7
kg m−3, specific gravities at 20 ◦C 823.9–827.2 kg m−3, kinematic viscosities at 40 ◦C 3.01–3.22 mm2/s,
initial boiling points 140–160 ◦C, final boiling points 354–368 ◦C, and calculated cetane indexes 56.80–
57.63. These properties of the bio-oil/diesel blends and their distillates compare well with standard
transportation diesel fuel. The emulsion distillates meet the standard requirements for automotive
diesel in East Africa.
Description
Keywords
Bio-oil, Corn stover, Diesel, Emulsion, Fuel
Citation
Munu, N., Banadda, N., Kiggundu, N., Zziwa, A., Kabenge, I., Seay, J., ... & Schmidt, A. (2021). Transforming corn stover to useful transport fuel blends in resource-limited settings. Energy Reports, 7, 1256-1266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.02.038