Abstract
Date palm trees, being an important source of nutrition, are grown at a large scale in Saudi Arabia. The biomass waste of date palm, discarded of in a non-environmentally-friendly manner at present, can be used for biofuel generation through the fast pyrolysis technique. This technique is considered viable for thermochemical conversion of solid biomass into biofuels in terms of the initial investment, production cost, and operational cost, as well as power consumption and thermal application cost. In this study, a techno-economic analysis has been performed to assess the feasibility of converting date palm waste into bio-oil, char, and burnable gases by defining the optimum reactor design and thermal profile. Previous studies concluded that at an optimum temperature of 525 °C, the maximum bio-oil, char and gases obtained from pyrolysis of date palm waste contributed 38.8, 37.2 and 24% of the used feed stock material (on weight basis), respectively, while fluidized bed reactor exhibited high suitability for fast pyrolysis. Based on the pyrolysis product percentage, the economic analysis estimated the net saving of USD 556.8 per ton of the date palm waste processed in the pyrolysis unit. It was further estimated that Saudi Arabia could earn USD 44.77 million per annum, approximately, if 50% of the total date palm waste were processed through fast pyrolysis, with a payback time of 2.57 years. Besides that, this intervention will reduce 2029 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, contributing towards a lower carbon footprint.
Highlights
In addition to abundant oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is known for the production of delicious dates
This indicates that 345,000 tons (23 million trees × 15 kg/tree) per annum date palm waste is produced in Saudi Arabia [2]
The objective of this study is to determine the techno-economic feasibility of thermal pyrolysis of date palm residue for production of bio-oil, biochar and syn gas while considering initial investment, cost of production and operation cost as well as power consumption and thermal applications by using the previous literature as a reference This paper focuses on defining the potential impact of byproduct on the cost of energy production
Summary
In addition to abundant oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is known for the production of delicious dates. Of total fruit production [1] This indicates that 345,000 tons (23 million trees × 15 kg/tree) per annum date palm waste is produced in Saudi Arabia [2]. The objective of this study is to determine the techno-economic feasibility of thermal pyrolysis of date palm residue for production of bio-oil, biochar and syn gas while considering initial investment, cost of production and operation cost as well as power consumption and thermal applications by using the previous literature as a reference This paper focuses on defining the potential impact of byproduct on the cost of energy production (thermal and power applications).
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