Abstract
In recent years, due to the growing environmental impact, various industrial sectors have shown interest in developing sustainable strategies for waste management and energy production. Agro-industrial waste has emerged as a promising source of raw materials for the synthesis of high-value-added materials and fuels. This work evaluates the transformation of vegetable residual biomass from oil palm and corn using thermochemical conversion processes. The thermal conversion tests by pyrolysis were carried out in a temperature-controlled stirred tubular reactor. The operating conditions of temperature and nitrogen flow were set at 750 °C and 50 ml/min, respectively, during the reaction time. The resulting bio-oil, gas, and biochar were characterized using complementary techniques, including infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), calorific value, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and gas chromatography (GC), to determine their potential applications. The results show that the yields of the liquid and gaseous fractions obtained from the residual biomass of oil palm and corn were in the range between 40-46% and 31-29% by weight, respectively. The thermogravimetric analysis results showed that oil palm and corn residues exhibit moisture evaporation around 100 °C (mass loss 8–10% by weight), volatile production in the 100–200 °C range (mass loss 4–7% by weight), and high thermal decomposition in the 200–600 °C range (mass loss 65.5–74% by weight). Finally, complete carbonization occurs at temperatures above 600 °C. The thermogravimetric analysis results confirmed that the selected reaction temperature (~750 °C) was suitable for achieving thermal treatment and the generation of volatile species primarily dominated by CO, H2, CH4, and other light hydrocarbons. These gaseous compounds can be used as a highly sustainable alternative fuel. Additionally, infrared spectroscopy data revealed that the liquid fraction consists of compounds with aromatic, aliphatic, and oxygenated functional groups. Furthermore, the calorific value of the liquid products and biochar ranged from 20-30 MJ/kg to 22-28 MJ/kg, respectively. It is important to highlight that the energy value varies according to the nature of the biomass and the thermal testing conditions. However, the appropriate thermal treatment of different types of vegetable residual biomass can significantly contribute to the diversification of the energy mix through the use of renewable resources.
