Materials Science for Energy Technologies (Jan 2020)
Effect of pyrolysis temperature on product yields of palm fibre and its biochar characteristics
Abstract
Rapid population and economic growth causes the demand for energy is increasing every year. A lot of focus has been put on renewable energy as the fossil fuel reserve is expected to last only a few decades. Biomass is recognised as a potential source of renewable energy but however, it usually requires further processing before it can be used. In the present study, biochar was prepared via pyrolysis using palm fibre as the biomass feedstock. This paper provides experimental data for the production of biochar at a temperature range of 300 to 900 °C at a heating rate of 5 °C/min. The obtained biochar was characterised using bomb calorimeter, Micromeritics ASAP 2020 Physisorption BET and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). The biochar gasification behaviour was studied in a Thermogravimetric Analyzer at temperatures ranging from 600 to 1000 °C. From the pyrolysis experiments, it was found that a good char yield can be obtained at lower pyrolysis temperatures. For the gasification experiment, a temperature of 800 °C and above is required for gasification to take place. Energy consumption can be reduced significantly for future research when employ this operating condition. Properties of solid fuel like char reactivity and carbon conversion under well defined gasifying agent and temperature is necessary for designing any gasifier model. It can be concluded that palm fibre can be upgraded into solid biofuel and has potential to be used as a feedstock for renewable energy production.
