CATALYTIC PYROLYSIS OF EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH (EFB) WITH COPPER OXIDE DOPED SILICA ALUMINA (CuO/ SiO2-Al2O3) CATALYST USING A FIXED-BED REACTOR

Abstract

EFB is main biomass waste from CPO production. EFB can be pyrolyzed into bio-oil, bio-char and gas. Biomass pyrolysis is one of thermochemical process that is used to degrade biomass in the absence of oxygen. Catalytic pyrolysis is a method to upgrade the breakdown of lignocellulosic material. In this study, catalytic pyrolysis of EFB was conducted using CuO/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ in a fixed-bed reactor from room temperature to final pyrolysis temperature of 500°C in the presence of nitrogen (N₂) gas. Two parameters were investigated which were the effects of different catalyst to biomass loading and different CuO were loading in CuO/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ catalyst towards product yields. At optimum conditions of 15 wt% catalyst loading and 35 wt% CuO loading in CuO/SiO₂-Al₂O₃, the bio-oil, bio-char and gas yields were 45.89 %, 21.35 % and 32.76 %, respectively. In comparison, in non-catalytic condition, the bio-oil, bio-char and gas yields were 38.05 %, 20.60 % and 41.35 %, respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that the addition of CuO/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ have increased the bio-oil production from EFB pyrolysis by 7.84%.