Pyrolysis of agricultural residues for bio-oil production

Abstract

The production of biofuel from biomass waste is of great interest to the scientific community regarding the discovery of solutions to global energy demand and global warming. The pyrolysis of biomass to produce bio-oil is an easy, cheap and promising technology. In the current investigation, the pyrolysis of two different biomasses (cornelian cherry stones and grape seeds) was achieved at temperatures ranging from 300 to 700 °C. The effect of pyrolysis temperatures on the yields of each product was significant. The bio-oil yields were maximized at 500 °C for cornelian cherry stones and 700 °C for grape seeds. The compositions of bio-oils for both cornelian cherry stones and grape seeds were similar and contained mainly oxygenated hydrocarbons. The compounds observed in this investigation were composed of phenols, alkyl benzenes, alkanes, alkenes, fatty acids, fatty acid esters and a few nitrogen-containing compounds. Bio-char properties were amended in association with both the pyrolysis temperature and biomass type. Bio-chars from cornelian cherry stones contained higher carbon and lower oxygen levels than those from grape seeds under identical conditions. Increases in pyrolysis temperatures produced bio-chars containing higher carbon levels and heating values for both carnelian cherry stones and grape seeds.