Potential use of methane and syngas from residues generated in rice industries of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul: Thermal and electrical energy

Brazil is one of the world's largest rice producers. The demand for energy in the rice industries represents one of the main costs during the grain processing. The present research had as objective to raise the potential of generation of methane and synthesis gas from effluents and rice husks, respectively, besides evaluating the possibility of using the energy generated to supply the demand in the parboiling and drying processes of the industries studied, as well as the potential opportunity for the generation of remaining energy. For this, modeling was performed to quantify the energy generation capacity of methane and synthesis gas using UASB reactors and gasifiers as fuel production routes to generate bioenergetic fuels. With the total results achieved of 2.8E + 09 MJ/y, it has been found that the proposed energy sources are largely viable in relation to the energy supply required by the industries, so that they can become self-sufficient, with the possibility of generation remaining energy of 7.7E + 01 MW h, giving the region a prominent position regarding the final energy supply of renewable energy, which emerges as an alternative to fossil fuels for the composition the energy matrix of Rio Grande do Sul state. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.