Socioeconomic analysis of bioproducts derived from babassu nut breakers pyrolysis in legal amazonia communities

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass residues can generate interesting materials for the chemical and food industries. Physical activation processes were developed by cold pressing and slow pyrolysis, as well as physical chemical activation with zinc chloride (ZnCl 2 ), to produce bio-based products, including bio-oil (30%) and biochar (31%), with good yields. Charcoal and biooil provided good results, respectively, with regard to adsorption capacity (357 m 2 g -1 of surface area BET) and the possibility of extracting chemical compounds (phenols with 45.81% and aldehydes with 32.76%). Moreover, the key economic performance indicators of the process were analyzed, and the results indicate that the proposed process is economically feasible and attractive with $422,416.10 profits. Finally, after dialoguing with the babassu nut breakers and understanding their needs, the feasibility of economically developing the contacted families through technology transfer for extracting the oil, cake, biochar, and bio-oil from babassu coconuts was studied, demonstrating the possibility of income generation based on the profitability achieved in this study.

Babassu Coconut Fibers: Investigation of Chemical and Surface Properties (Attalea speciosa.)

“…In Brazil, the original species is scientifically known as Attalea speciosa. This palm tree is native to a biome called the coconut palm forest, which spans from the Amazon to the caatinga regions, with a greater presence in the states of Maranhão and Piauí [14,15]. The babassu palm can grow up to 20 m tall, and its fruits contain edible oil seeds, as per the illustration in Figure 1b.…”