Fixed Bed Pyrolysis of Euphorbia Tirucalli Biomass for Bio-oil Production

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical method for biomass conversion resulting from char, bio-oil and gas. Bio-oil can be used as a valuable renewable fuel or as a chemical in various industries. Char can also be used as a solid fuel, a cheap adsorbent, and raw materials for the production of bio-char derivatives and for agricultural applications. In the present study, the biomass pyrolysis of Euphorbia tirucalli was performed in a fixed bed reactor. Pyrolysis experiments for this study were to investigate the effect of temperature (450-530 °C) on the yield of pyrolysis products. Characteristics of pyrolysis products (bio-oil and bio-char) using instrumental chemistry methods such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was investigated. The results showed that with increasing temperature, the yield of bio-oil and gas increases and the amount of bio-char decreases. The maximum yield of bio-oil (38%) was obtained at a temperature of 530 °C. Also, the maximum yield of various gases was about 39%. The highest thoracic effusion was observed at temperatures between 250-350 °C. The resulting acidic liquid is dark in color with a combination of chemical compounds including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, furfural, furan, phenols and some aromatic substances.