Shawn Crawford, president of the Wilmington Rotary Club, with Fred Ertel, a Rotarian.

Submitted photo

Fred Ertel recently spoke to the Wilmington Rotary Club about his work on Pyrolysis Gasification. Ertel wanted the City of Wilmington to use the process to treat the city trash.

Gasification and pyrolysis are two thermal conversion processes used to convert organic materials into energy or valuable products. Gasification involves the partial oxidation of the feedstock at high temperatures, typically above 700°C, in the presence of a controlled amount of oxygen or steam. This process produces a synthesis gas (syngas) consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and other trace gases.

On the other hand, pyrolysis is a process that decomposes the feedstock at high temperatures, typically between 400°C and 800°C, in the absence of oxygen. This results in the production of biochar, liquid bio-oil, and a combustible gas.

While both gasification and pyrolysis are effective methods for converting biomass into energy, gasification is more suitable for producing syngas for electricity generation or as a feedstock for chemical synthesis, while pyrolysis is better suited for producing bio-oil for biofuels or biochar for soil amendment.