Investigation on pyrolysis of coconut shell for bio-oil production using infrared heat source

Abstract

In this experiment pyrolysis of coconut shell is done for bio-oil production using infrared radiation as heat source. For this a methodology is structured and experimental setup is prepared for pyrolysis. After cooling of pyrolysis product bio-oil is collected, weighted and tested for different fuel properties. Infrared pyrolysis is a relatively new technology and very few investigation is done about it. The obtained biofuel and char has a calorific value of 22.95M J/kg, 17.85 M J/kg and bio-oil’s dynamic viscosity is 17 centipoise at 20°c. A maximum oil yield of 43 wt. % is found after 35 minutes of pyrolysis at a heating rate of 40°c/min till 410°c then gradually increasing it to 510°c for remaining time. An oil yield of 38 wt. % is observed after 20 minutes of beginning of pyrolysis which only increases by 4 wt. % in next 20 minutes. So, pyrolysis can be done only for 20 minutes for optimization in production process.In this experiment pyrolysis of coconut shell is done for bio-oil production using infrared radiation as heat source. For this a methodology is structured and experimental setup is prepared for pyrolysis. After cooling of pyrolysis product bio-oil is collected, weighted and tested for different fuel properties. Infrared pyrolysis is a relatively new technology and very few investigation is done about it. The obtained biofuel and char has a calorific value of 22.95M J/kg, 17.85 M J/kg and bio-oil’s dynamic viscosity is 17 centipoise at 20°c. A maximum oil yield of 43 wt. % is found after 35 minutes of pyrolysis at a heating rate of 40°c/min till 410°c then gradually increasing it to 510°c for remaining time. An oil yield of 38 wt. % is observed after 20 minutes of beginning of pyrolysis which only increases by 4 wt. % in next 20 minutes. So, pyrolysis can be done only for 20 minutes for optimization in production process.