An economic analysis of rice straw microwave pyrolysis for hydrogen-rich fuel gas

Rice straw is an abundant biomass resource, and it can produce hydrogen-rich fuel gas through microwave pyrolysis, so it has many potential applications. In this research, the combustion heat of gas per kilogram per kilowatt hour was used as one index to explore the influence of microwave power, moisture content and the length of feedstock. A multi-factor experiment was designed by using a Central Composite Design on Design-Expert 8.0 software. The results show that the gas calorific value increases with moisture content. However, the gas calorific value first increases and then decreases with an increase in microwave power and length. Ignoring the energy consumed during the preparation of the material, the most economic conditions for the production of gas are explored in this paper.