Self-sustained carbonization of oil palm biomass produced an acceptable heating value charcoal with low gaseous emission

Abstract

a b s t r a c tCharcoal production with higher heating value (HHV) requires high capital investment and high energy requirement for large scale production. In this study, charcoal production under self-sustained carbonization from oil palm biomass was proposed and tested at pilot scale, whereby temperature and exhaust gas flow rate were monitored but not controlled. This proposed system under self-sustained carbonization, whereby oil palm biomass is combusted to provide the heat for carbonization in inadequate oxygen is preferable to the industry due to its simplicity, ease of operation and low energy requirement. Moreover, the gaseous emissions are below the permitted level set by the environmental authorities. The considerable HHV obtained was between 23 and 25 MJ/kg with low gaseous emissions. The results obtained are acceptable and comparable to other studies on oil palm biomass conducted under controlled conditions with electrical heating elements.

Improved yield and higher heating value of biochar from oil palm biomass at low retention time under self-sustained carbonization

“…Pressed-shredded OPEFB was obtained and prepared according to Idris et al (2015). The HHV values of raw OPEFB and biochar were analyzed three to five times from samples at five different locations in the reactor using a Parr 1261 bomb calorimeter.…”

“…Three different particle sizes of below 29 mm, 30e99 mm and 100e150 mm OPEFB biomass were used in this study. The gaseous pollutants (CO x , NO x , SO x , HCl and CH 4 ) and particulate matter below 10 mm (PM 10 ) were measured according to Idris et al (2015) using a gas analyzer (MRU Vario Plus, Germany) and PM 10 analyzer respectively.…”

“…The mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shell can still be used as inhouse fuel to generate steam, without involving any major changes in the oil palm mill operation. However, high capital investment and high energy requirement especially for large scale production to convert this biomass into biochar with high yield and higher heating value biochar were the main obstacles (Idris et al, 2015). Therefore, an appropriate technology with reasonable cost and energy requirement, without compromising on the yield and quality of biochar produced, could overcome this problem.…”

“…Higher heating value (HHV) and high yield are positively correlated with carbonization temperature (Hooi et al, 2009;Ronsse et al, 2013) as well as retention time, heating rate and material size (Abdullah and Sulaiman, 2013;Hooi et al, 2009;Sugumaran and Seshadri., 2009;Sukiran et al, 2011). Self-sustained carbonization to produce biochar using biomass feedstock without an internal electrical heating is unique due to its simplicity, ease of operation and reduced energy requirement (Idris et al, 2015).…”

“…Under self-sustained carbonization of OPEFB with uncontrolled exhausted air flow rate, comparable HHV biochar between 17 and 25 MJ/kg can be obtained at harvesting temperature of 300 C (Idris et al, 2015). However, the yield of biochar was less than 16%.…”