Influence Impregnation Ratio and Temperature On The Pyrolysis O f Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Biomass-OPEFB

Abstract

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) were impregnated with metal-oxides and red-mud to improve the quality of the oil produced. The impregnation was enhanced by drying and calcinations at 1050C and 5500C respectively. The study of the effect of each of the metal-oxides was carried out in a carbonate vapour depositor furnace reactor (CVD). The result shows that the pyrolysis of OPEFB impregnated metal-oxides and red-mud increased the bio-oil yield from 28 wt. % for activated metal-oxides to 31 wt. % for activated red-mud at the expense of char and gas yield at 5wt. % impregnation ratio and 5000C pyrolysis temperature. Impregnation ratio of 5, 10 and 25wt. % was observed. The optimum impregnation ratio was found to be 5wt%. Addition of metal-oxides and red-mud above 10 wt. % was found to reduce the overall liquid yield and promote gasification. The red mud impregnated OPEFB gave the highest yield of oil at 32.10% as against metal-oxides that gave lower values. This may be due to the fact that the red mud already contained most of these ions which are known to act as catalyst. The highest yield of oil at 5500C is already showing and increases in energy level by 500C even though the oil yield is higher in TiO2 impregnation as energy consumption is minimized. The lowest oil yield is 15.55 wt. % at impregnation ratio of 10 wt. %. Ion impregnated OPEFB biomass for gas yield decreased as the temperature increased with impregnation ratio of 10 wt. %. In the case of titanium impregnated OPEFB the gas yield increases with increase in temperature and increase with the impregnation ratio. Aluminum and Red mud impregnated OPEFB decreases in gas with increase in the impregnation ratio and temperatures. The char yield is favored most in titanium impregnated OPEFB biomass with char yield of about 43.85% both, for 5000C and 5500C which increases char formations with increase in temperature at 10wt% impregnation ratio. The lowest char is in ion impregnated OPEFB with 20.30% at 5wt. % impregnation ratio.