Fast Pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) for Bio-Oil Production in Fluidized-Bed

The Empty Fruit Bunch (EBF), a waste of the palm oil industry, is one of the most recent renewable energy resources, and promises high yield of bio-oil (about 50%) with a low of gas and char.  The objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive process model for the fast pyrolysis of EBF in fluidized-bed using the ASPEN PLUS simulator that can predict process performance under various operating conditions. The proposed model integrates specific thermodynamic properties and reaction kinetic models. The ASPEN PLUS reactor models and the external FORTRAN subroutines nested in ASPEN PLUS are used to represent the fluidized-bed pyrolysis reactor. A five-step reaction kinetic model of fast pyrolysis is used to predict bio-oil formation. The five-step model gives reliable results over a wide range of heating rates, and proper trends for bio-oil formation even without considering physical parameters like heat transfer. The process model is validated with experimental data from fluidized-bed pyrolysis system in a pilot scale. The sensitive analyses are performed to investigate effects of operating conditions on product yields.