Production and Characterization of Pyrolytic Products Obtained from Pyrolysis of Simal Cotton Seed (Bombax Malabarica)

Abstract

In this work, simal cotton seed (Bombax malabarica) has been chosen as the material of interest and serves as biomass. The simal cotton seeds were subjected to pyrolysis in a semi batch reactor, the characteristics and yield of the liquid and solid product were determined. The main objective of this work was to determine the possibility of finding a product using various methods so that it may serve as a fuel or may be used as a valuable product. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in the temperature range of 450°C to 700°C at the heating rate of 20°C min-1. A maximum liquid product yield of 58.06% (by weight) was obtained which has the calorific value of 6678.5416 Kcal/kg. The thermal degradation of the simal cotton seed was studied in an inert atmosphere by Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) and its kinetic study was also done using various model fitting and model free methods. The pyrolytic oil and the pyrolytic char obtained was characterized using methods like FTIR, GC/MS, SEM-EDX and its physical properties were determined using standard procedure prescribed in literature.