Pyrolysis is the new green emerging technology that was lately discovered when compared to solar and wind energy. Here the source of energy is biomass. Pyrolysis refers to the first chemical process that takes place after the burning of organic fuels. These fuels include cloth, paper, wood and all types of plastic. In fact, when you burn wood the visible flames that you see are not of the wood but because of the process of pyrolysis.
Scientists have validated the basic concepts of the technology, the performance data have still not been evaluated according to the standards set by the EPA. When you heat waste it is converted into fuel. In the process of incineration complete waste is converted into energy and ash. The process can control the conversion so that combustion is not allowed to take place directly.
Fuel can be produced by burning waste plastic under pressure under certain temperature conditions. Under such a temperature the plastic macromolecular chains are broken into smaller molecular chains and the compounds formed because of the process can be used as a component of coal, diesel, petrol and oil. We can make use of anhydrous pyrolysis to produce fuel and diesel from biomass.
Pyrolysis can be controlled and the faster process can take just a few seconds. In this process even mass and heat transfer plays a crucial role. In case of fast pyrolysis the organic compounds are heated rapidly to 600 degrees without the presence of air. In such conditions, permanent gases, organic vapors and charcoal are produced.
Scientists are Virginia Tech have identified pyrolysis as the potential technology to dispose litter.
The process can also be used for the main purpose of producing waste directly from poultry growers in one locality so that there is less transportation which directly contributes to sustaining the environment. Hence we see that pyrolysis can be play a big role in the future to produce oil from waste and algae. In fact, bill gates has made a significant investment in backing Sapphire Energy, which is a startup concern working towards coming up with a full fledged commercial state facility that will make use of pyrolysis for producing clean and efficient energy.
The gasification technology also holds a green future to create domestic gas. Here hydrocarbons are converted into coal and petroleum products which can then be used as a source of energy.