Fast pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch and palm kernel shell for production of bio-oil using auger reactor / Nurul Suhada Ab Rasid

Pyrolysis has received a lot of interest as it can convert biomass into gas, liquid (bio-oil) and solid products. Bio-oil can be utilized as a feedstock for various chemicals as well as fuels production, and heat and power generations. The purpose of this research is to optimize the process conditions for bio-oil production from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and palm kernel shell (PKS) in an auger reactor and to elucidate the detailed characteristics of bio-oil. The maximum bio-oil yield for EFB was 64.54 wt% at temperature of 500 oC, nitrogen flow rate of 2 L/min and mass feeding of 8 kg/hr, while the maximum of 64.38 wt% of bio-oil yield was obtained at temperature of 550 oC, nitrogen flow rate of 3 L/min and 8 kg/hr for PKS. The highest higher heating value obtained for both EFB and PKS bio-oil was 27.28 kJ/mol and 26.68 kJ/ mol, respectively, for bio-oil produced at 550 oC. The moisture content observed to be reduced with increasing pyrolysis temperature

Synthesis and characterization of carboxymethyl cellulose derived from empty fruit bunch

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), a cellulose rich lignocellulosic biomass has huge potential to be utilised as a raw material for the synthesis of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). In this study, CMC was synthesised from EFB extracted cellulose at the optimum carboxymethylation reaction conditions. The extracted cellulose yield obtained by alkaline treatment followed by bleaching with hydrogen peroxide was 45.5 wt.%. The cellulose structure was elucidated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Meanwhile, the synthesised CMC was characterised with FT-IR, XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The maximum degree of substitution (DS) obtained was 1.30 with the yield of 177.51 wt.% and purity 89% determined using chemical methods at the optimum conditions of 30 wt.% of NaOH, 18 g of SMCA, 65 °C, 3 h reaction time and less than 75 μm of EFB-cellulose particle size. XRD analysis inferred low crystallinity while FTIR spectra verified the CMC structure and presence of different functional groups. The results for DS and EFB CMC yield obtained from this work were considerably higher than those reported in the literature. The synthesised EFB CMC can be further utilised in various industries such as detergent, mining, flotation, and oil and gas drilling muds applications

Synthesis and characterization of carboxymethyl cellulose derived from empty fruit bunch

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), a cellulose rich lignocellulosic biomass has huge potential to be utilised as a raw material for the synthesis of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). In this study, CMC was synthesised from EFB extracted cellulose at the optimum carboxymethylation reaction conditions. The extracted cellulose yield obtained by alkaline treatment followed by bleaching with hydrogen peroxide was 45.5 wt.%. The cellulose structure was elucidated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Meanwhile, the synthesised CMC was characterised with FT-IR, XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The maximum degree of substitution (DS) obtained was 1.30 with the yield of 177.51 wt.% and purity 89% determined using chemical methods at the optimum conditions of 30 wt.% of NaOH, 18 g of SMCA, 65 °C, 3 h reaction time and less than 75 µm of EFB-cellulose particle size. XRD analysis inferred low crystallinity while FTIR spectra verified the CMC structure and presence of different functional groups. The results for DS and EFB CMC yield obtained from this work were considerably higher than those reported in the literature. The synthesised EFB CMC can be further utilised in various industries such as detergent, mining, flotation, and oil and gas drilling muds applications

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

Recent advances in green pre-treatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass for enhanced biofuel production

Increasing global energy demands requires a versatile approach, prompting many researchers to focus on renewable biofuel from sustainable resources, especially second-generation lignocellulosic biomass. The utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production requires proper pre-treatment in biorefinery to increase the reaction rate in the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis step. Consequently, operational cost, enzymes and other chemical agents consumed and amount of waste produced are reduced. In this review, the latest trends in green pre-treatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass are presented and discussed, spanning the years from 2018 to 2021 and every terrestrial biomass type. Green pre-treatment methods such as ozonolysis, ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents (DES), organosolv and steam explosion are scrutinized for their optimal process parameters that maximize lignin degradation, hydrolysis sugar yield, as well as minimize reaction time, reagent consumption and energy consumption. The potential of green biofuel production by applying green pre-treatment methods are elaborated, and future perspectives for the utilization of green pre-treatment technology at industrial scale are also presented