Catalytic pyrolysis of biomass in fixed bed reactor using calcium based catalysts

Abstract

The catalytic pyrolysis of biomass in fixed bed reactor using calcium based catalysts had been studied in fixed bed reactor. The objective of this study were to determine the influence of pyrolysis product with various which are temperature, biomass size, and ratio of catalyst and to determine the potential use of palm shell using calcium based catalysts in pyrolysis process. The result were obtained from the different temperature (300˚C, 400˚C, 450˚C, 500 ˚C, and 550˚C), biomass size (212μm, 425μm, 600μm, and 1.18mm) and ratio of catalysts (9:1, 8:2, 5:5, and 6:4). The maximum bio oil from this study were at the temperature of 500 ˚C, biomass size of 425μm and percentages ratio of catalyst 20%. The sample was characterized by using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The pyrolysis products were characterized by using Fourier Transform Infra-red (FT-IR). In this study the use of Cryptomya Elliptica as a catalyst to produce high amount of product yields. The higher percentages of bio oil product yield was 32.71%. The FT-IR result showed that the bio oil was highly oxygenated containing a high fraction of anime compounds. Therefore, the high oxygenated oil needs to be upgraded in order to raise the heating values before it can be used for industrial fuel.