Pyrolysis of waste palm oil in the presence of steam

Abstract

This work ranges among studies dedicated to valorization of waste vegetable oils. In the present study, the pyrolysis of the waste palm oil was performed in presence of steam, in a tubular pyrolysis reactor operated in a continuous mode. The raw used in the pyrolysis reaction is the frying waste palm oil and the reactor was operated at high temperature (575 -625°C) and reaction time of 72s and 144s, at a steam: oil ratio of 0.1 -0.2. Valuable compounds such as olefins (ethylene, propylene) were obtained in the process, and they can be used further as raw materials in the chemical and petrochemical industry. The gaseous product resulted contained high ethylene and propylene concentrations: 18.89 - 25.5% and 13.33-15.05%, respectively. Based on the experimental results, some linear equations were developed to predict the products yields, and the coefficients of the model were statistically verified. These equations can serve at scaling up the pyrolysis process.