Article Sidebar
Published:
Apr 30, 2019DOI:
10.4314/njtd.v16i2.4Keywords:
Article Details
In accordance with the Copyright Act of 1976, which became effective January 1, 1978, the following statement signed by each author must accompany the manuscript submitted: "I, the undersigned author, transfer all copyright ownership of the manuscript referenced above to the Nigerian Journal of Technological Development, in the event the work is published. I warrant that the article is original, does not infringe upon any copyright or other proprietary right of any third party, is not under consideration by another journal, and has not been published previously. I have reviewed and approve the submitted version of the manuscript and agree to its publication in the Nigerian Journal of Technological Development." A copyright transfer form may be downloaded from the NJTD Website (http://njtd.com.ng/index.php/njtd). Author(s) will be consulted, whenever possible, regarding republication of material. All authors must have access to the data presented and the authors and sponsor (if applicable) must agree to share original data with the editor if requested.
Main Article Content
Pyrolysis and characterization of Jatropha curcas shell and seed coat
Abstract
The utilization of dedicated energy crops and agricultural residues for producing biofuels and bio-oil in a range of energy conversion technology is attracting more research interests. Pyrolysis is one of such important thermochemical method for converting lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels. This work investigates the pyrolysis of residues from a dedicated energy crop, jatropha of Nigerian origin using intermediate pyrolysis. Pyrolysis of Jatropha biomass residues [Jatropha fruit shells (JFS) and Jatropha seed coat (JSC)] was carried out in a tubular fixed bed reactor at a temperature of 450oC, using intermediate pyrolysis method. Bio-oils were obtained and subsequently characterised for their physico-chemical properties. The yields of the resulting bio-oil, biochar and gas were determined. The compositions of the bio-oils obtained were also determined by gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur (CHNS) elemental analysis. The main constituents of the bio-oils obtained from JFS and JSC were acetic acid, guaiacol, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol and phenol. The empirical formula of the obtained JFS and JSC bio-oils were found to be CH1.77 O0.28 N0.04 and CH2.03 O0.47 N0.04 respectively. The bio-oil samples that were produced from JSC and JFS of Nigerian origin were found suitable for bio-oil production. Valuable compounds found in the bio-oils indicated potential industrial applications.
Keywords: Jatropha shell, pyrolysis, biomass waste, biofuel, bio-products