As averred by Dr.C. Angel Luis Brito Sauvanell, leader of the P5 “Energy, Biofuel and Clean Technologies for sustainable development”, the recent installation of the Thermogravimetric Balance in the Laboratory of Biofuels and Biomass Characterization, located in the Center for Studies on Energy and Refrigeration of the Faculty of Mechanic and Industrial Engineering, puts the Universidad de Oriente on a par with the most renowned institutions of analysis of Biomass worldwide.
In the Thermogravimetric Balance, the Biomass is characterized obtaining parameters such as humidity, volume of volatiles and others. "If we couple it to a gas analyzer, it would give us composition and we could establish a heating regime to say if it is better to gasify, pyrolyze or burn that biomass. After we have this regime, it is passed to the static oven, where the same conditions of the Thermogravimetric Balance are reproduced. As a result, we obtain the real behavior of the Biomass under laboratory conditions. The last procedure takes place in a semi-pilot plant oven where information for the possible design of a plant is completed."
Ghislain Lison, customer service provider of the German company Netzsch, the equipment supplier enterprise in charge of its installation in the UO, explained technical aspects about the assembly to the Cuban specialists. “This is a very small machine. In Europe, it is always said that if your products are very sensitive to the touch of your hands, then you should make sure everything is well arranged. The Thermogravimetric Balance has a wide range of applications. In addition to the analysis of Biomass, it is also used in chemistry, in people, and in quality labs with the purpose of verifying if there is contamination. "
At present, the Biofuels and Biomass Characterization Laboratory contributes to the development of research related to the production of charcoal. As Dr.C. Brito Sauvanell states, the use of the Thermogravimetric Balance will also allow to study the different Biomasses existing in Santiago de Cuba, including agricultural and industrial wastes.
This is the first Thermogravimetric Balance in the eastern region of Cuba and the second to arrive in the whole country.
Ghislain Lison, in charge of the installation of the equipment in the UO, explained technical aspects about the assembly to the Cuban specialists.
Ghislain Lison explains that this equipment provides the opportunity to look for and know why something is not working efficiently. “This equipment allows researchers going through the process of conducting an experiment experiencing contamination or unknown failures, to go back in their research and find out what is not working with the product”. Photos: Rovier Mesa
Translator: Lilia Sanz Gámez