Thermal Pyrolysis of Groundnut De-Oiled Cake and Characterization of Bio-Oil Produced

Abstract

Energy crisis have led to a vast research on various alternative sources of energy in order to cope up with the growth in standard of living of all human beings across the world. Biomass is found to be one of the most promising sources of energy which can ease out the energy crisis. Hence, various technologies and processes are evolved to utilize the biomass resource efficiently. Pyrolysis is one of the latest technologies which have the potential to provide valuable liquid and gaseous fuels from these biomass sources. In this paper, thermal pyrolysis of groundnut de-oiled cake was performed in a semi batch reactor at a temperature of 450°C for the production of groundnut pyrolytic oil or the bio-oil. The physical properties analysis of bio-oil was compared with physical properties of commercial transportation fuels and other pyrolytic oils. GC-MS was performed to determine its chemical composition. Kinetic study of the pyrolysis reaction was also done.