An alternative approach for the screening of catalytic empty fruit bunch (EFB) pyrolysis using the values of activation energy from a thermogravimetric study

Mohamed, Alina Rahayu; Hamzah, Zainab

doi:10.1007/s11144-014-0798-8

Cited by 18 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 41 publications

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“…Previously, many researchers have focussed on the utilisation of the oil palm waste such as empty fruit bunches (EFB) [5], oil palm fronds (OPF) [6], mesocarp fibre (MF) and palm kernel shell (PKS) [6,7,8] due to their potential benefits for energy sources. However, hygroscopic behavior and higher content of alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEMs) particularly in EFB limits the ASTESJ ISSN: 2415-6698 utilization of biomass in producing the energy due to vulnerable to biological attack and biodegradation [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristic, Thermochemical Behaviors and Kinetic of Demineralized and Torrefied Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB)

Kasim¹,

Ismail²,

Mohamed³

et al. 2018

Adv. sci. technol. eng. syst. j.

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A sequential pre-treatment of demineralization and torrefaction, was carried out on palm empty fruit bunches (EFB). EFB and demineralized EFB (DEFB) were torrefied in a vertical tubular reactor in the temperature range of 200 to 280 °C for 30 mins under nitrogen (flow rate:100 mL/min. The pretreated samples were characterized using proximate and ultimate analyses, fuel properties, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques. The thermal and kinetic study on the torrefied samples were carried out using thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that sequential pretreatment enhances the properties of solid EFB by increasing the carbon content and reducing the oxygen content with increasing the calorific value. Fuel properties of torrefied samples showed the mass and energy yield decreased, with an increase in energy density. In addition, the FTIR spectra showed the decomposition of hemicellulose occurring for torrefied samples as evidenced by the disappearance of the vibrational features belonging to hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. The kinetic study carried out using Coats-Redfern method on torrefied samples suggested that the activation energy can be transferred by the sequential pre-treatment, indicating that the abundant energy it has can be converted into bio oil of high quality. Apparently, torrefied samples bear high potential to be used as biofuel feedstock when exposed to further thermal decomposition and pyrolysis processes.

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