Hydrothermal liquefaction of Elaeis guineensis trunks

Hydrothermal liquefaction of Elaeis guineensis trunks: Lessons learned from a case study in Guatemala

Cutz, L. (TU Delft Large Scale Energy Storage)
Maldonado de León, H.A. (TU Delft BT/Bioprocess Engineering)
Zambrano, Gamaliel (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala)
Al-Naji, Majd (Technical University of Berlin)
de Jong, W. (TU Delft Large Scale Energy Storage)

2023

The oil palm industry has been under public scrutiny during the last decades due to environmental and social issues related to its practices. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) trunks (OPTs) are of special interest as they are left idle in the field after the replanting process which is performed every 25 years. This common practice results in harvesting challenges, phytosanitary risks, and a loss of bioenergy potential. Due to their high moisture content and fibrous nature, OPTs present a problem for traditional conversion processes that require a dry and homogeneous material. This study evaluates the feasibility of converting OPTs into a bio-crude oil and biochar to increase the sustainability of the oil palm sector. To date, research efforts have primarily focused on hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of OPT without catalysts, resulting in a limited understanding of the potential of OPTs. Thus, the main novelty of this work is the evaluation of the effects of catalyst dosage (0–5 wt%) on the bio-oil yield, reaction temperature (260–300^∘C), and residence time (15–60 min) using a half-fraction experimental design methodology. For this, OPTs extracted from two plantations in Guatemala were used. The maximum bio-oil yield (26.77 ± 3.60 wt%) was found at 260^∘C for 15 min and 5 wt% catalyst with a high heating value (HHV) of 19.29 ± 1.33 MJ kg⁻¹. Nonetheless, the bio-oils produced without a catalyst at 300^∘C and 15 min have higher HHV (27.63 ± 1.35 MJ kg⁻¹) and are similar to Diesel fuel based on their H/C and O/C ratio. These results indicate that there is a potential trade-off between the bio-crude oil mass yield and HHV when using the catalyst.

Bio-oil
Biomass
Hydrothermal liquefaction
Oil palm residues

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:0513246c-1e74-4f83-bb75-50b9ab95855e

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.117552

0926-6690

Industrial Crops and Products, 206

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2023 L. Cutz, H.A. Maldonado de León, Gamaliel Zambrano, Majd Al-Naji, W. de Jong