Co-pyrolysis of Sugarcane Bagasse and Thermocol Waste to Obtain an Upgraded Product

Abstract

The co-pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse and thermocol waste is investigated at different temperatures, and blending ratios to establish the optimum conditions for maximum liquid product yield. In the initial section characterization of the precursors, followed by the thermogravimetric analysis of the blend of sugarcane bagasse and thermocol waste at a 1:1 ratio, sued by optimizing the process parameters using response surface methodology, kinetics study of 1:1, and in the utmost section of thesis, the engine studies of the co-pyrolysis liquid blend with diesel in various proportions are performed. The experimental results showed a maximum liquid yield of 66.75 wt. “%” at 550 C, 1:3 ratio of mixture, and 20C min-1 rate of heating respectively. The optimization results showed an optimum co-pyrolytic liquid yield of 66.94 “%”, at sugarcane bagasse blending ratio of 47.09 “%”, 18.66 °C min-1 rates of heating, and 563.2 °C optimum temperature. The characterization studies indicated some properties of the co- pyrolytic liquid namely, higher heating value (41.05 MJ kg-1), and kinematic viscosity (3.70 cSt) either within the range or in the nearby range of diesel and gasoline fuels. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Gas-chromatography Mass-spectrometry analysis results presented the presence of aromatic compounds in abundance. The activation energy (Ea) for sugarcane bagasse and thermocol waste (1:1) blend was determined using Kissinger, Kissinger Akahira Sunose, and Ottawa Flynn Wall methods. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters were assessed, and the CR method was used to estimate the pre-exponential factors for sugarcane bagasse and thermocol waste blend. The Ea for co-pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse, and thermocol waste obtained by the Kissinger method was 145.94 kJ mol‒1, while the average value of Ea by Kissinger Akahira Sunose and Ottawa Flynn Wall methods was 160.34 and 170.47 kJ mol‒1 respectively. The kinetics analysis results suggest that the sugarcane bagasse, and thermocol waste blend has the potential to be used as a precursor for pyrolysis. Under full load conditions, the optimum values for brake power, brake thermal efficiency, brake-specific fuel consumption, and torque was determined to be 3.62 kW, 31.24 “%”, 0.2 kg/kWh, and 21.56 Nm for 5 “%” blend .