Evaluation of oil palm biomass potential for bio-oil production via pyrolysis processes

Abstract

The yield and quality of bio-oil obtained from pyrolysis processes depends on many factors, including the pyrolysis types, reactor types, operating conditions and biomass property. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the potentiality of oil palm biomass, including oil palm trunk (OPT), oil palm fronds (OPF), oil palm decanter (DC), and oil palm root (OPR) for producing bio-oil via pyrolysis processes. The potentiality of oil palm biomass was considered in terms of proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, higher heating value, potential use as energy equivalent to fossil fuels, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and lignocellulose content. The results showed that the moisture content of dried samples was in the range of 7.5-10.7% (w. b), which was relatively low and appropriate for pyrolysis processes. The volatile content of OPT and OPF was higher than 72% (wt.). The carbon, oxygen and hydrogen content of oil palm biomass samples were in the range of 41.5-45.6, 30.7-40.2 and 5.7-5.9% (wt.), respectively. The higher heating value (HHV) and potential use as energy of the samples was relatively low compared to the HHV of fossil fuels. The OPT and OPF had high cellulose and hemicellulose content, while also providing low lignin content compared to the lignin content of DC and OPR. The TGA results showed that the thermal decomposition of the samples took place within the range of 200-450°C, with the lignin content strongly affecting the thermal decomposition trend. These results revealed that the selected oil palm biomass exhibited potentiality for producing bio-oil via pyrolysis processes, particularly the OPT and OPF.