Project Aims

Project Aims

T SYNAGRON project aims at designing and developing an innovative, autonomous and automated processing plant for the efficient conversion of any available agricultural waste matter into bio-products and/or energy.

The proposed processing plant for the conversion of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable agricultural residues into useful bio-products and/or hydrogen feeding SOFCs for energy production

As shown in the figure, the proposed processing scheme combines anaerobic digestion with pyrolysis through a solid/liquid separation step in an integrated processing plant (including reformers for H2 production), able to convert both biodegradable and non-biodegradable residual matter into useful bio-products such as, biogas, bio-char, bio-oil and/or hydrogen, as well as energy production using SOFCs. More specifically, the proposed project has the following objectives:

  • Experimental investigation, theoretical modeling and optimization of the anaerobic digestion using various biodegradable agricultural residues and the solid/liquid separation processes depending on the user needs for biogas.
  • Experimental investigation, theoretical modeling and optimization of the catalytic pyrolysis process using various non-biodegradable agricultural residues and aiming at variable customer needs for bio-char, bio-oil or uncondensed gases.
  • Design and development of innovative catalytic systems for the pyrolysis and the reforming reactions for hydrogen (H2) production from biogas and bio-oil.
  • Techno-economical study and optimization of the overall processing scheme for the efficient conversion of any available agricultural waste matter into bio-products and/or energy production using SOFCs.

This project can be considered to be a climate change adaptation project as it contributes significantly in reducing greenhouse gases.