Abstract
Biomass is an important renewable energy resource which primarily contributes to heating and cooling end use sectors. It is also a promising alternative source of biofuels to replace the depleting supply of fossil fuels. Surprisingly, few writers have been able to draw on the feedstock significance for oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) as the biomass resource for biofuels compared to the other types of biomass waste. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive review of EFB as a biomass resource presented in four major parts. First, the introduction covers the demand for bio-oil and describes the different kinds of feedstock, the relevance and potential of EFB biomass. Second, the characteristics of biomass are explained before it is upgraded as biofuel, drawing similarities and contrasts between EFB and other sources of biomass. Pyrolysis processes and reactors used for EFB conversion are described, and the factors affecting the bio-oil yield and quality are discussed. Major reactor parameters are summarized and reactor optimization is discussed. Third, comparison on the properties of the bio-oil vs. petroleum in transportation, power generation, and heating are compared followed by prioritizing the bio-oil properties from the most to least critical, revealing the most promising methods for upgrading. Fourth, the environmental impact, including CO2 emission, of the use of EFB as a promising renewable energy resource and a cleaner alternative fuel is recommended. This paper has comprehensively reviewed the conversion of oil palm empty fruit bunches into biofuels, including the similarities and differences between biomasses, the best reactors, its comparison with fossil fuels, and bio-oil upgrading methods. The upgrading mapping matrix is created to present the best upgrading strategies for the optimum quality of biofuels. This paper serves as a one-stop center for EFB conversion into biofuels.
Highlights
Increasing energy consumption, limited fuel reserves and climate change are major challenges of the 21st century
A high amount of solid material from coffee silverskin has been studied as an adsorbent of organic pollutants in water, using methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) as model compound with 400 ◦ C biochar giving the highest removal values at 98 MB and 40% MO
Biomass is an attractive clean energy resource which can be converted into biofuels through biochemical and thermochemical technologies
Summary
Increasing energy consumption, limited fuel reserves and climate change are major challenges of the 21st century. In 2016, the contribution of crude oil to global energy consumption was 32%, followed by coal at 27% and natural gas at 21% [1] This indicates that approximately 80% of the energy consumed was supplied by fossil fuels. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10210 consumption in the year 2014 was provided by renewable energy, 78.3% by fossil fuels and 2.5% by nuclear power. The share of biomass in the net final energy consumption by end-use sector is 14%, which comprises of heating and cooling at 12.6%, transportation at 0.8% and electricity at 0.4% [3] This shows that biomass is a potential resource to replace conventional energy sources such as fossil fuel, natural gas and coal. The paper ends with the environmental impact of biofuels compared to other types of biomass waste conversion, especially in reducing the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
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