Innovative tool for rapid analysis of biomasses

The Advanced Technological Center for Renewable Energy (CTAER) has coordinated an R&D project that has resulted in an innovative tool in the sector for the rapid analysis of biomass, the NIR tool.

The project is based on the thesis 'Optimization of methodologies for the characterization of solid biofuels from the olive grove industry', recently presented by its author and graduate in Chemistry from the University of Jaén, Jesús Bernardo Mata, in the Auditorium of the Campus of Rabanales from the University of Córdoba.

The research that provides the basis for the thesis has been financially supported through the completion of the Research Project of Excellence – Línea del Olivar (Call 2010) of the Junta de Andalucía, entitled “Optimization of Methodologies for the Characterization of Solid Biofuels from the Olive Grove Industry”, and with the CTAER's own funds.

The result of the aforementioned R&D&i project has been the application of NIR (Near Infrared) technology to the physicochemical and energetic characterization of biomasses quickly and economically. While previous official methods took several days, with the new portable NIR technology, analyzes are performed in a few seconds.

The chemical and energetic characterization of biomasses is essential for their commercial use. Both the buyer and the seller need to know the properties of the product. This is fundamental information for the development of the market. You can see here an audiovisual that shows the operation of the NIR technology for rapid biomass analysis.

In the summary of the thesis it is concluded, among other statements, that "the scientific knowledge and study of olive grove biofuels generated in this research, as well as the implementation of NIR spectroscopy in the related business sector, highlights the importance and the need to take advantage of the energy potential of waste from the olive grove industry.”

The jury that evaluated Jesús Bernardo Mata's thesis, made up of three doctors from the universities of Córdoba, Granada and Seville (Pilar Dorado, Ángeles García and Valeriano Ruiz), gave the work the highest rating and rated it as “exceptional and very good.” exposed".

As indicated in the report prepared by the directors of the thesis, Francisco Jesús López and José Antonio Pérez: “The work that is the subject of this thesis is the result of a long and extensive maturation process in relation to a topic of great importance for the sector. of biomass, such as the exhaustive study of the physical-chemical properties of solid biofuels derived from olive groves, as well as their standardization to ensure their quality and the processes associated with their energy conversion. In fact, the results of the thesis have served to develop AENOR regulations on the use of olive pits as biofuel."