Abstract
The agricultural economic policy of Cuba pretends to triplicate the crops of coffee and cocoa by 2021, a measure which will bring about both an increase in biomass waste and the need to find a proper method for its disposal. Slow pyrolysis process can transform lignocellulosic waste into added value products as biochar, bio-oil and gas. The present research evaluated the yield and the theoretical potential energy of co-products (biochar, bio-oil, and gas) from coffee and cocoa seed husks using the pyrolysis process as a source of friendly and renewable energy. Results indicated that coffee husks are more suitable for the production of gas with a yield of 40.4%, while cocoa seed husks are better suited for the production of bio-oil, with a yield of 37.4%. For 2021 the theoretical energy potential estimated is 8291 MWh, equivalent to 716000 kg for the coffee husks, and 1384 MWh equivalent to 121000 kg for the cocoa seed husks. The bio-char characterization indicated high contents of carbon, calcium, potassium, nitrogen, and oxygen, which makes it a suitable candidate for being used as a soil amendment. The conversion of coffee and cocoa seed husks into added value products through slow pyrolysis process will help clean the environment, decrease the greenhouse effect, and will aid farmers in the rural populations by providing them with an additional source of income.
Highlights
Sustainable development is the key to assure the quality of life for future generations by decreasing the environmental contamination
The amount of ethanol extractives was greater for cocoa seed husks than for coffee husks
Since lignin is reported as a main precursor in the biochar formation, the highest bio-char yield is expected from the pyrolysis process of cocoa seed husks
Summary
Sustainable development is the key to assure the quality of life for future generations by decreasing the environmental contamination. Sustainable energy from biomass is considered to be carbon cycle neutral with no net increase of CO2 levels in the atmosphere because the CO2 released during their burning is fixed in the biomass by photosynthesis [2]. Pyrolysis is the thermochemical decomposition of organic materials in an inert atmosphere, at temperatures between 400-900 °C [6, 7]. This process produces bio-char (~18 MJ/kg), bio-oil (~17 MJ/kg), both being considered as a medium to high-energy-density materials, and gaseous low energy-density products (~6 MJ/kg)[8]. The gas can be employed for cooking or burned directly as fuel for power production [9], and the bio-oil is used as chemical feedstock for valuable chemical substances, this last product needs to be upgraded due to its high water and complex oxygenated hydrocarbon contents [10]
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