Upgrading of Palm Oil Empty Fruit Bunches to Solid Fuel Using Torrefaction and Hydrothermal Treatment

Abstract

To enhance the physicochemical properties of the EFB in the form of biochar, torrefaction and hydrothermal treatment were used. The proximate and ultimate compositions, heating values, and mineral composition of the biochar were all determined. The results showed that after treatment, fixed carbon increased while volatile matter decreased. With increasing reaction temperature, the increase and decrease were more noticeable. After hydrothermal treatment at 300 oC, the heating values of EFB increased from 19.05 MJ/kg to 29.31 MJ/kg. As the reaction temperature rose, so did the energy densification. The contents of Na, K, and Si in EFB decreased after hydrothermal treatment, according to XRF results. In general, the ash content of biochar obtained through hydrothermal treatment was lower than that of EFB (4.54%) as a raw material and comparable to Indonesian coal (37.37%) as a comparison. As a result, hydrothermal treatment is preferable to torrefaction when it comes to converting biomass to high-quality solid fuel.