Production of Bio-Oil from Soapnut seed by Microwave Pyrolysis

Abstract

Biomass is one of the potential source of renewable energy to meet the need of alternative fuels. Biomass can be converted into useful energy by thermochemical conversion processes such as gasification, combustion and pyrolysis. Microwave pyrolysis a non-conventional method of heating for the production of pyrolytic bio-oil, char and gas. In this work, soapnut seed is used for the bio-oil production by microwave pyrolysis. The experimental setup used in this work consists of a microwave oven of 2.45 GHz frequency with maximum input power of 800W. In this work, temperature distribution and pyrolytic products yield from the pyrolysis of soapnut with respect to microwave power input are studied. The microwave pyrolysis experiments are conducted at power densities of 8 W/gm, 7 W/gm & 6 W/gm for 20 minutes. The experimental shows that the bio-oil yield (50 wt %) is the highest at 7 W/gm. The flash point, viscosity and calorific value of the pyrolytic bio-oil are measured and presented. The results indicated that the bio-oil produced by the microwave pyrolysis can be upgraded and used as a potential fuel for IC engines.