Pyrolysis Of Empty Fruit Bunch Research Articles

Effective waste management through Co-pyrolysis of EFB and tire waste: Mechanistic and synergism analysis

Driven by the need for solutions to address the global issue of waste accumulation from human activities and industries, this study investigates the thermal behaviors of empty fruit bunch (EFB), tyre waste (TW), and their blends during co-pyrolysis, exploring a potential method to convert waste into useable products. The kinetics mechanism and thermodynamics properties of EFB and TW co-pyrolysis were analysed through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The rate of mass loss for the blend of EFB:TW at a 1:3 mass ratio shows an increase of around 20% due to synergism. However, the blend's average activation energy is higher (298.64 kJ/mol) when compared with single feedstock pyrolysis (EFB = 257.29 kJ/mol and TW = 252.92 kJ/mol). The combination of EFB:TW at a 3:1 ratio does not result in synergistic effects on mass loss. However, a lower activation energy is reported, indicating the decomposition process can be initiated at a lower energy requirement. The reaction model that best describes the pyrolysis of EFB, TW and their blends can be categorised into the diffusion and power model categories. An equal mixture of EFB and TW was the preferred combination for co-management because of the synergistic effect, which significantly impacts the co-pyrolysis process. The mass loss rate experiences an inhibitive effect at an earlier stage (320 °C), followed by a promotional impact at the later stage (380 °C). The activation energy needed for a balanced mixture is the least compared to all tested feedstocks, even lower than the pyrolysis of a single feedstock. The study revealed the potential for increasing decomposition rates using lower energy input through the co-pyrolysis of both feedstocks. These findings evidenced that co-pyrolysis is a promising waste management and valorisation pathway to deal with overwhelming waste accumulation. Future works can be conducted at a larger scale to affirm the feasibility of EFB and TW co-management.

Experimental Study of Combustion Chamber Performance Utilizing Biochar from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) as Fuel with Variation in Excess Air

Palm oil mill waste is abundantly available in Indonesia as biomass. However, the inorganic part of biomass fuels causes problems related to the ash generated, leading to slagging and fouling. The slagging and fouling as deposits form on heat transfer surfaces is one of the main problems associated with biomass combustion. Reducing the deposit formation will improve the boiler’s performance. As low-calorific biomass energy, the empty fruit bunch (EFB) can be converted into high-calorific biomass solid fuel as biochar using pyrolysis. This study investigates the potential of biochar as a solid fuel that can be used as a mixed fuel with coal (cofiring) in boilers in power plants. Biochar, produced from the pyrolysis of EFB at a temperature of 500 °C, is used as fuel in the combustion chamber of a laboratory-scale boiler. The variations in excess combustion air from 20% to 40% were implemented to analyze the slagging and fouling index as well as the efficiency of the combustion chamber. From analysis, the highest combustion chamber temperature appears at 30% excess air, and the lowest was at 20%. The biochar with 30% excess air combustion has a lower potential for slagging and fouling formation. Moreover, the highest combustion chamber efficiency is around 88.06%.

EVALUATION OF CARBON EMISSION IN MOTORCYCLE EXHAUSTS AND ENGINE PERFORMANCE USING BIOMASS NANOFUEL PATCH

Biomass nanofluid not only utilises the most abundant waste in Malaysia but also ensures the environment’s sustainability towards low carbon emissions by reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHG). The present work investigates a renewable biomass NanoFuel Patch derived from normal pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) biomass as a pure product (EFB nano oil). The EFB nano oil will go through the patching process to become a biomass nanofuel patch. This NanoFuel Patch is attached to the motorcycle’s fuel hose and tank. It works based on the nanofluidics concept, allowing the nanomolecules to be transported via biomass fluid bound with nanocomposite fibre medium assembled in a patch adhesive. Nanofluidics minimise the adsorption of impurities, which leads to complete combustion in the engine. The engine performance and emissions of a renewable biomass nanofuel patch were investigated during a motorcycle test attached to the dynomite roller chassis dynamometer (dyno test) in the steady-state condition of a single-cylinder and four-stroke type motorcycle. The findings show that the NanoFuel Patch produced better torque and braking power compared to the standard condition. At speeds between 60 and 70 km/h, the motorcycle’s NOx emissions were lowered to 20.56% and 7.90%, respectively, in contrast to the standard condition. Compared to standard conditions, CO emission levels were lower at 80 km/h, 90 km/h, and 100 km/h, with reductions of 22.08%, 11.65%, and 35.09%, respectively. For CO2 concentration, lower production of CO2 occurred when the motorcycle ran at speeds of 60, 70 km/h, 80 km/h, 90 km/h, and 100 km/h, with percentages of 8.87%, 8.34%, 3.59%, 2.91%, and 0.78%, respectively.

Thermogravimetric and kinetic studies on pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch over metal-impregnated rice husk ash catalysts

Thermogravimetric and kinetic studies on pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch over metal-impregnated rice husk ash catalysts

Evaluation of oil palm waste mild pyrolysis kinetic parameters

With the goal of contrasting model-fitting and model-free methods for the kinetics of mild pyrolysis for empty fruit bunches (EFB), EFB were thermal decomposed and the profile was analysed using thermalgravimetric analysis (TGA). Coats-Redfern (CR) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) methods were selected to represent model-fitting and model-free methods respectively. The activation energies (Ea) calculated for CR ranged between 22.45 and 26.31 kJ mol−1 (regression coefficient, R2 of 0.93 to 0.95) while the average Ea for KAS was 3.98 kJ mol−1. Compared with other typical model fuels, the mild pyrolysis of EFB from this work shows higher thermal instability, hence more reactive compared to previous works. Furthermore, the KAS method is more reliable in representing the mild pyrolysis process due to its higher overall regression coefficients showing that the assumptions of the KAS method are more accurate.

Evaluation of the Zinc Sulfate Catalytic Effect in Empty Fruit Bunches Pyrolysis

The effect of zinc sulfate as a catalyst on the pyrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil palm was assessed. Thus, a thermo-gravimetric analyzer coupled with a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) was used, while the percentage of catalyst varied between 0 wt% and 3 wt% at different heating rates (10, 30, and 50 K/min). The kinetic parameters (activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and reaction order) and activation energy distribution were calculated using three kinetic models. The thermogravimetric curves for the EFB pyrolysis showed three prominent peaks in which the maximum mass loss rate was mainly due to cellulose and lignin pyrolysis. On the other hand, FTIR analysis indicated that the main gaseous products were CO2, CO, H2O, CH4, NH3, acids, and aldehydes (CH3COOH). The samples with 2 wt% of catalyst presented higher activation energies in pseudo reactions 1 and 2, ranging between 181,500 kJ/mol–184,000 kJ/mol and 165,200 kJ/mol–165,600 kJ/mol, respectively. It was highlighted that the first pseudo reaction with an activation energy range between 179,500 kJ/mol and 184,000 kJ/mol mainly contributes to the cellulose pyrolysis, and the second pseudo reaction (165,200 kJ/mol–165,600 kJ/mol) could be ascribed to the hemicellulose pyrolysis.

Identification of bio-oil chemical compounds from pyrolysis process of oil palm empty fruit bunches

Indonesia is the highest CPO producer globally, but CPO production also produces waste. The highest waste in CPO production is empty fruit bunch (EFB) (±58.3%). EFB is biomass waste that has the highest lignocellulose compound. Lignocellulose compound could utilize by conversion with physical, chemical, and biological degradation. Pyrolysis is one of the physical methods to degrade the lignocellulose compound. This research aimed to determine bioactive compounds produced from EFB pyrolysis. The analysis of chemical compound degradation from pyrolysis used gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) method. The results of GC-MS from liquid smoke showed that were three highest concentrations, including acetic acid at 48.28%, phenol (CAS) at 9.10%, 2-furancarboxaldehyde (CAS) furfural at 4.44%.

Pengaruh Kondisi Temperatur Pirolisis Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit Terhadap Komposisi Produk Tar

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is one of the biomass wastes that have a great potential of a bioenergy resource due to its natural properties, such as high calorific value. The conversion of EFB biomass into valuable biofuels can achieved through biochemical and thermochemical processes. Tar (bio-oil), the liquid product from the pyrolysis is one of the most attractive biofuels. The study aims to determine the effect of temperature process of pyrolysis EFB on its tar production under droptube reactor. The results showed that maximum tar yield was 43,80% obtained at 500 °C. The EFB tar produced at 500 °C was also determined to have a higher of phenol compound at 51,9%. The high phenolic content indicates its potential to be used for the production of renewable phenolic resins. Hence, the present work of pyrolysis of EFB presents itself as a promising method to produce phenol rich tar (bio-oil) from biomass waste.

Utilization of Empty Fruit Bunch Derived Vapor for Carbon Deposition within Iron Ores

Metallurgical coke is the main source of fuel and reducing agent for iron and steel industry. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) biomass which is abundantly available in Malaysia could be utilized as a source of energy as well as reducing agent in iron making process. This research presents carbon infiltration within low-grade iron ore via chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method from EFB pyrolysis vapor. Low-grade iron ore was first heated to remove the combined water (CW) that consequently created pore network within the iron ore. These pores would act as sites for carbon infiltration in the iron ore. The EFB treatment on iron ore has been carried out at different temperatures and the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the carbon infiltration has been investigated. The Brunauer−Emmet−Teller (BET) and Barrett−Joyner−Halenda (BJH) methods have been performed to analyze pore surface and pore volumes of the iron ore. Pore surface and pore volume decreased as the temperature increased indicated that more carbon has been deposited. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, it was shown that the low-grade iron ore has been transformed into iron (Fe). The infiltrated carbon from the EFB pyrolysis vapor in the pore surface iron ore is proven to be able to be utilized as source of energy and reducing agent to partially replace metallurgical coke in the blast furnace in order to reduce emission of harmful gas.

Production of biochar from microwave pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch in an alumina susceptor

Biomass-derived biochar emerges as a potential green bio-coal candidate for power generation. Microwave-assisted pyrolysis has been proven to be an efficient and economical technique for biomass conversion into biochar. The process can be further improved by utilising susceptor. This research focuses on producing biochar from microwave pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch (EFB) in an alumina susceptor. EFB pellet (PEFB) and EFB short fibre (FEFB) were pyrolysed in a 14 L bench scale microwave pyrolyser at temperatures between 200 and 400 °C. The pyrolyser performance (biochar yield, energy efficiency) and biochar properties (proximate analyses, ultimate analyses, calorific value and ash content) were analysed. The results showed that temperature of 300 °C demonstrated the optimised conditions for biochar production. FEFB produced 5.2% higher biochar yield and exhibited better biochar properties compared to PEFB. FEFB-derived biochar (FEFBC) overall characteristics were better than PEFB-derived biochar (PEFBC), with higher heating value (25.19 MJ/kg), fixed carbon (64.52%), volatile matter (13.38%) and carbon content (59.83%). However, FEFBC has high tendency of forming slagging and fouling in the combustor as the ash indexes were > 0.34 kg/GJ and RB/A > 1.75.

Bayah Natural Zeolites to Upgrade the Quality of Bio Crude Oil from Empty Fruit Bunch Pyrolysis

Currently, the fuel oil for transportation and industry is produced mostly from fossil fuels. Because fossil fuels are a limited resource, biomass could be an alternative resource. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is biomass waste from fresh fruit bunch processing in palm oil mills. EFB can be converted to bio-crude oil through pyrolysis at temperatures from 400 to 600 °C. The quality of bio-crude oil must be upgraded due to its high oxygen content. Esterification of bio-crude oil potentially improves the quality of bio-crude oil by using zeolite as catalyst. The purpose of this research was to investigate the properties of Bayah natural zeolites for upgrading the quality of bio-crude oil from EFB pyrolysis. Bayah natural zeolite was activated using various NaOH concentrations. Characterization of the natural zeolites was performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), and nitrogen physisorption. The optimum ratio of Si/Al of the modified Bayah natural zeolites was 3.91. The surface area of the parent was initially 19 m2/g and increased significantly to 150 m2/g after treatment with 0.4 M NaOH solution. The application of the activated zeolites for bio-crude oil esterification successfully decreased the total acid number.

Effect of Temperature on Calorific Value of Pyrolyzed Empty Fruit Bunch (Efb) Derived Biochar

The residues from the oil palm industry are the main contributors to biomass waste in Malaysia, and these wastes require extra attention with respect to handling. A survey of the literature indicates that most of them are handled with unsatisfactory practices that negatively impact the environment. Therefore, it is very important that they be utilized for more beneficial purposes, particularly in the context of the development of biofuels via pyrolysis technology. Due to its high carbon content, rich in lignin and low cost, empty fruit bunch (EFB) shows potential to be a good precursor for the production of biochar. The pyrolysis temperature greatly affects biochar properties and its potential usage. Many researches work on biochar have been carried out to assess its potential by investigating its characteristics. The most common thermochemical technique to produce biochar is pyrolysis, during which the organic components are decomposed at adjustable temperature in a nitrogen-limited atmosphere. The focus of this study is to identify the effect of temperature (300, 350, 400, 450 and 500 °C) on calorific value of pyrolyzed EFB derived biochar. Eight experimental runs were conducted. The results were completely analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The model was statistically significant. The factor studied which temperature was significant with p-values < 0.0001. The value of R2 was 0.9633 which indicated that the temperature showed high correlation to the calorific value of biochar from EFB pyrolysis process. A quadratic model equation was developed and employed to predict the highest theoretical calorific value. The maximum biochar calorific value was achieved at pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C. Char yield was obtained highest at 300°C around 53.36 wt% and started to decrease as temperature increase. Result of this experiment revealed that the calorific value of biochar increases as the temperature increases while the yield percentage of biochar decreases as the temperature increases. The yield of biochar decreases with temperature because of the secondary tar reactions of the volatiles, such as thermal cracking, that favors the increase of gas yield.

Phenol-rich bio-oil derivation via microwave-induced fast pyrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch with activated carbon

Abstract In the present study, oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was subjected to microwave-induced fast pyrolysis. It has been demonstrated that EFB pyrolysis with activated carbon (AC) as microwave susceptor significantly increases the bio-oil yield (38.26 wt%) at an optimized temperature of 500 °C as compared to the EFB pyrolysis without AC (1.89 wt%). The EFB bio-oil produced at 500 °C (EPO500) was characterized to be enriched with oxygenated compounds (92%) and high nitrogenous compounds (8%) with an overall low carbon to hydrogen ratio (0.1) that prohibits its direct usage as a transportation fuel. The EPO500 was also determined to have a higher selectivity of phenol compound at 42.95% with total phenolic derivatives up to 67.5%. The high phenolic content of EPO500 achieved at the highest possible yield indicates its potential to be used for the production of renewable phenolic resins. Hence, the present work of microwave-induced pyrolysis of EFB presents itself as a promising method to produce highly selective mono-phenol rich bio-oil from biowaste.

Kinetics Analysis on Catalytic Pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) with Copper Oxide Doped Aluminium Oxide (CuO/Al2O3) Catalyst

This study focuses on dynamic non-catalytic and catalytic pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch (EFB) with copper oxide doped aluminium oxide (CuO/Al2O3) at linear ramp rates of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 °Cmin−1 at pyrolysis temperature of 28-1000 °C in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The thermogravimetric profiles for the thermochemical breakdown of EFB under non-catalytic and catalytic pyrolysis with CuO/Al2O3 comprise of three different levels. The kinetics analysis for the reactions were evaluated using the Kissinger and Ozawa methods. The values of activation energy (Ea) for non-catalytic EFB pyrolysis were 167.95 and 177.68 kJmol−1 based on Kissinger and Ozawa methods respectively. For catalytic pyrolysis with approximately 9.09 wt% CuO/Al2O3 catalyst, the values of Ea reduced to 127.72 and 137.42 kJmol−1 by Kissinger and Ozawa methods respectively. These values indicate that the presence of 9.09 wt% CuO/Al2O3 catalyst has successfully reduced Ea value for the EFB pyrolysis reaction.

Thermal pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch (EFB) in a vertical fixed-bed reactor

In the production of crude palm oil, huge quantities of solid biomass waste is generated such as empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm fronds and palm–pressed fibre (PPF). This inevitably resulted in the environmental pollution due to its natural conversion to methane. In this study, thermal pyrolysis of EFB was conducted using a fixed bed reactor. The factors such as nitrogen gas flowrate and holding time that affect the distribution of pyrolysis product yields were being investigated by evaluating the percentage product yields. It was determined that at nitrogen gas flowrate of 300 cm3/min and 30 mins holding time, the maximum bio-oil yield of 46.20 % was attained with gas and char yield of 21.79 % and 32.01 % respectively. The existence of functional groups in bio-oil was analyzed by Fourier Transfrom Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy. It was identified that the bio-oil has several functional groups such as hydroxyl (OH), ketone/aldehyde (C=O) and ester (O-C=O) groups. The dynamic viscoscity of bio-oil was analyzed by Brookfield viscometer. It showed that the viscosity of bio-oil decreased with increasing temperature from 25-50 °C.

Durability Properties of Demineralized and Torrefied Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Pellets

The pelletization of raw and demineralized and torrefied empty fruit bunch (TDEFB) were conducted upon mixing with bio-oil that was obtained from EFB pyrolysis. The ratio of bio-oil addition to raw and TDEFB was varied from 0-20 wt%. Then it was pressed using the single pellet press machine. The effects of the ratio of bio-oil addition to raw and TDEFB and the thickness of pellets were evaluated towards its durability. It was identified that the ratio of bio-oil addition to raw and TDEFB pellet of 5 wt% had produced the optimum durability which was 69.27 and 74.46 % respectively. In terms of the thickness of the raw and torrefied pellets, it was determined that at thickness of 3 cm, the durability was the highest which were 70.12 and 71.12 % for both raw and TDEFB pellets respectively. The raw and TDEFB pellets were analysed using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy in order to evaluate the presence of functional groups within the materials. The presence of O-H hydroxyl group, C=O from carbonyl or ester and C-H alkane groups are detected in both raw and torrefied pellets.

Fast pyrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch in an auger reactor: bio-oil composition and characteristics

Fast pyrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) has been conducted in an auger reactor to produce bio-oil. The reactor was a continuous feeding auger reactor heated by gas-fired external heater. The experiments were conducted under different operating temperatures ranging from 400 °C to 650 °C, different nitrogen flow rates ranging from 1 to 4 L/min, and various feeding rates ranging from 2 to 8 kg/h. The maximum yield of bio-oil from EFB was 58.67 % obtained at temperature of 500 °C with feeding rate of 8 kg/h under 1 L/min of nitrogen gas flow rate. The average moisture content of bio-oil was varied between 30 and 40 % and the bio-oil produced at 500 °C provided the maximum HHV of 27.38 MJ/kg, respectively. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) spectra shows bio-oil contains high phenolic compounds. This paper explains the fast pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch using auger reactor to enhance the bio-oil yield and characteristics.

A Comparative Study On The Heat Release During The Combustion Of Coal And Oil Palm Biomass Charcoal Briquette Via Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)

The world is seriously searching for an alternative to fossil fuels due to their tremendous environmental effect. However, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass were anticipated to be alternative energies. In this study, the amount of heat generated from the combustion of coal and charcoal briquettes derived from oil palm biomass was investigated and compared. Charcoal briquettes were made from the biochar obtained after the pyrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFB) and mesocarp fibre (MF). Coal and charcoal briquettes were subjected to combustion via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at a 10oC min-1 heating rate to a maximum temperature of 850oC. The ignition and burnout temperatures were 235oC and 675oC for EFB, 254oC and 788oC for MF, and 368oC and 770oC for coal. The maximum heat released 0.06 W was obtained from EFB charcoal briquette followed by 0.05 W and 0.04 W from coal and MF charcoal briquette, respectively. This finding indicated that charcoal briquettes derived from oil palm biomass (EFB) could be one of the potential solid fuels that can be used for coal replacement.
 Keywords: biomass, heat release, combustion, coal, charcoal briquette, TGA

Synthesis and Characterization of ZSM-5 Catalyst for Catalytic Pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunches

ZSM-5 is known as a heterogeneous catalyst in the process of petroleum cracking. Zeolite has narrow pores so it needs synthesis to form mesopore so that reactant molecules can enter the active site in ZSM-5 mesopore. In this study, mesopore formation was carried out by adding Si/Al components with a ratio of 20 derived from tetraethyl orthosilicate, aluminum isopropoxide and TPAOH template with hydrothermal process. The resulting ZSM-5 was characterized using x-ray diffraction, scanning and electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD characterization results showed that the ZSM-5 synthesized to form mesopore was seen from a fairly high peak intensity in the range at 2-theta were 8.11, 9.01°; 23.27°; 23.49°; and 24.13°. The results of this study already have the same structure as the commercial ZSM-5. Characterization of SEM-EDS showed that Si-Al and Na elements in ZSM-5 were 96.43%, 3.56% and 0% wt, respectively. With a magnification of 20000x, this cluster is quite homogeneous even though the crystallization formed is not well aggregated. This ZSM-5 catalyst will be applied to the process of biomass into bio-oil.

Kinetic Parameters of Non-Isothermal Thermogravimetric Non-Catalytic and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunch with Alumina by Kissinger and Ozawa Methods

The non-isothermal thermogravimetric non-catalytic and catalytic empty fruit bunch (EFB) pyrolysis with alumina were performed at different heating rates of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 K/min under nitrogen atmosphere at a flow rate of 100 ml/min under dynamic conditions from 301 K to 1273 K. The activation energy were calculated based on Kissinger and Ozawa methods. Both reactions followed first order reactions. By Kissinger method, the activation energy and Ln A values for non-catalytic and catalytic EFB pyrolysis with alumina were 188.69 kJ mol-1 and 201.67 kJ/mol respectively. By Ozawa method, the activation energy values for non-catalytic and catalytic EFB pyrolysis with alumina were 189.13 kJ/mol and 201.44 kJ/mol respectively. The presence of catalyst increased the activation energy values for EFB pyrolysis as calculated by Kissinger and Ozawa methods.