Slow pyrolysis of agro-food wastes and physicochemical characterization of biofuel products

Effective management and utilization of food waste and agricultural crop residues are highly crucial to mitigate the challenges of greenhouse gas generation upon natural decomposition and waste accumulation. Conversion of biogenic wastes to biofuels and bioproducts can address the energy crisis and promote environmental remediation. This study was focused on exploring the characteristics of food waste and agricultural crop residues (e.g., canola hull and oar hull) to determine their candidacy for slow pyrolysis to produce biochar and bio-oil. Process parameters of slow pyrolysis such as temperature, reaction time and heating rate were optimized to obtain maximum biochar yields. Maximum biochar yield of 28.4 wt% was recorded at optimized temperature, heating rate and reaction time of 600 degrees C, 5 degrees C/min and 60 min, respectively. Furthermore, the physicochemical, spectroscopic and microscopic characterization of biochar, bio-oil and gases were performed. The carbon content and thermal stability of biochar were found to increase at higher temperatures. Moreover, bio-oil generated at higher temperatures showed the presence of phenolics and aromatic compounds.

Automated summary

This study focuses on converting food waste and agricultural crop residues to biochar and bio-oil through slow pyrolysis, optimizing process parameters to achieve maximum yields, and conducting physicochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopic characterization of the products. High temperatures during pyrolysis increase the carbon content and thermal stability of biochar, and bio-oil produced at higher temperatures contains phenolics and aromatic compounds.