Pyrolysis of Pineapple Peel Effect of Temperature, Heating Rate and Residence Time on the Bio-char Yield

Abstract

The depletion of fossil fuel is creating awareness of the need for a sustainable future, and interest in alternative energy sources has increased tremendously in recent years. Pyrolysis is one of the efficient thermo-chemical method of harnessing energy from biomass. The aim of this work was to conduct an experimental study on the pyrolysis of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) peel with the emphasis on the characterisation of the peels and their chars. Pineapple peel was pyrolysed in a horizontal tubular reactor under inert atmosphere. The effects of pyrolysis temperatures, heating rates and residence time on the yield of the bio-char were investigated. Pyrolysis runs were performed at temperatures between 300 and 700 0 C with heating rates of 5 and 50 0 C min -1 . The residence time was between 0 to 3 hours. The obtained bio-char ranged between 29.3 and 47.1 %wt, at different pyrolysis conditions. The optimum bio-char yield was obtained at 425 0 C with a heating rate of 5 0 C min -1 and residence time of 1 hour. According to the results obtained under the conditions of this study, the pyrolysis temperature had the most significant effect on bio-char yield compared to heating rate and residence time. The results from the pyrolysis showed the potential of pineapple peel as an important source of solid fuel.