Thermodynamic modelling and temperature sensitivity analysis of banana (Musa spp.) waste pyrolysis

Abstract

Pyrolysis has been established as a good technique of recovering energy from biomass. In this study, a thermodynamic model was developed on ASPEN Plus V8.8 to study the temperature sensitivity and yield of products from the pyrolysis of different banana wastes. The wastes considered were banana peels, pseudo-stem and leaves. The model was validated with experimental results for pseudo-stem pyrolysis. From comparison, the pseudo-stem was observed to give a slightly higher yield of gas compared to the other residues. Thermodynamic predictions of gas yield are similar for the different feedstock at low temperatures but varying at higher temperatures with the leaves producing less. Furthermore, the yield of oil from leaves is less and that of char is higher than for the other residues. The fluid phase products (bio-oil and syn-gas) were higher for pseudo-stem than for the other residues due to greater proportion of volatile matter from the proximate analysis. The suitability of banana pseudo-stem for bio-oil production via pyrolysis is established in comparison with the other residues studied. The leaves and peel are more suitable for low-temperature thermochemical processing for bio-char production.

An In Silico Temperature Sensitivity Study of the Pyrolysis of Beech, Ailanthus and Spruce

“…The yield of volatiles (bio-oil and syn-gas) is higher for the hard and soft hardwood than for the softwood. The temperature effect on gas yield is in agreement with the observations in other studies albeit for banana residues (Ighalo and Adeniyi, 2019), switchgrass (Ighalo and Adeniyi, 2020), and poultry litter (Adeniyi et al, 2019d).…”

“…At 350 o C, oil yield was 36.72%, 35.13% and 32.89% for beech, ailanthus and spruce respectively while at 650 o C, oil yield was 14.55%, 14.17% and 13.39% for the three biomasses respectively. The temperature effect on oil yield is similar to those observed in other studies albeit for banana residues (Ighalo and Adeniyi, 2019), switchgrass (Ighalo and Adeniyi, 2020), and poultry litter (Adeniyi et al, 2019d). Though oil yield was observed to be higher for hardwood than for the others the difference is not quite large.…”

“…Using a variety of approaches that takes into cognisance this basis, this research team have examined the pyrolysis of banana residues (Adeniyi et al, 2019c;Ighalo and Adeniyi, 2019), sugarcane bagasse and rice husk . Within the scope of the authors' exhaustive search, an in silico study for the pyrolysis of Beech, Ailanthus and Spruce are unreported except for the recent paper by the research group .…”

Modeling the valorization of poultry litter via thermochemical processing

“…This was not necessarily the point of interest in previous gasification modeling studies. We previously utilized in silico platforms to investigate biofuel development via the thermochemical processing of waste lubricating oil, sugarcane bagasse, banana residues, rice husks, acetic acid, glycerol, and waste plastics . In this study, the thermochemical processing of poultry litter was studied via a thermodynamic model.…”

Air Gasification of Banana (Musa spp.) Residues to Produce Biofuels

“…plant that is often mistakenly referred to as a "tree" is a large single-fruit bearing herbal plant widely grown in West Africa [8,9]. Having a cylindrical stem, it is tall and robust and can grow to a height of 0.8 m to around 7.5 m [10,11]. A lot of wastes/residues are generated from the harvesting and consumption of banana fruits and these includes rotten fruit, rhizome, leaves, pseudostem, peels and empty fruit bunch [12].…”