Production of fungicidal oil and activated carbon from pistachio shell

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of pistachio shell as a biomass feedstock for the production of fungicidal oil and a precursor for the production of activated carbon by physical activation. For this purpose, pistachio shell was pyrolyzed in a fixed bed reactor at the different temperatures (300-600 degrees C). The pyrolysis products were identified as gas, bio-oil, aqueous solution and char. The product distribution from pyrolysis process did not significantly change when the pyrolysis temperature was above 300 degrees C. The pyrolysis gas product had low calorific value since it contained the high proportion of carbon oxides. Because of their high oxygen content, the bio-oils were found not to be used as a fuel. Thus, the bio-oil was tested again four different types of fungi (pathogenetic. wood decaying and saprophyting). It was shown fungicidal activity again all tested fungi at the concentration of 10-50 mg ml(-1). The pyrolysis char was evaluated as a precursor for the production of activated carbon. The surface area and micropore volume of the activated carbon produced from the char by CO2 activation at 900 degrees C were found to be 708 m(2) g(-1) and 0.280 cm(3) g(-1), respectively. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.