(675d) The Impact of Treatment Conditions on Biomass Maturation and Conversion

Kerogen is the natural product of the maturation of organic matter. Over time and progressive burial, biomass undergoes sequential catalytic modifications known as diagenesis, catagenesis, and metagenesis. The aluminosilicate clays that co-deposit with organic matter provide catalytic function.

The types of biomass evaluated in this study include lignin, bagasse, yeast, chitin, and algae. Lignin was obtained by treating sugarcane bagasse with sulfuric acid to hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose. Chitin was isolated from crawfish and shrimp casings by sequential treatment with HCl and NaOH. Chlorella Protothecoides was grown phototrophically and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was grown heterotrophically. Biomass samples were then mixed with an aluminosilicate.

Biomass-aluminosilicate samples were loaded into isochoric reactors and incubated at elevated temperatures for the desired resident time. Different aspects of the reactions were changed to determine the various effects on pre-kerogen. The temperatures evaluated were 175°C, 150°C and 125°C. Aluminosilicate used were wollastonite, bentonite, and feldspar. Residence times ranged from 24 hours to 28 days.

The results of these variables will be presented with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA measures the volatility of a sample as temperature is increased. In this study, TGA was used to evaluate the impact of the treatment conditions outlined above on the organic products of simulated diagenesis. Characteristic volatility curves were used to determine the temperature ranges by which fractions of the biomass volatilize before and after maturation experiments.