Carbon monoxide reduction in the flue gas during biochar production from oil palm empty fruit bunch

• Main Authors: Ahmad Farid, Mohammed Abdillah, Hassan, Mohd Ali, Roslan, Ahmad Muhaimin, Samsudin, Mohd Hafif, Zarry, Mohamad, Othman, Mohd Ridzuan, Shirai, Yoshihito
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88086/1/ABSTRACT.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88086/; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620306272

Biomass carbonization technology is implemented to produce charcoal with high-calorific content. However, this technology releases pollutant gases, which adversely affect ambient environment and human health. This study proposed a catalytic gas treatment method using platinum-supported alumina catalyst (Pt/γ-Al2O3) for carbon monoxide emission reduction in oil palm empty fruit bunch carbonization. Carbonization released a rather high carbon monoxide concentration of 5558 ± 53 mg m−3 in the flue gas, exceeding the permissible limit of 1000 mg m−3. At 2.5 wt% of catalyst dosage, the carbon monoxide emission substantially was reduced to 595 ± 9 mg m−3, achieving 89.3% carbon monoxide removal efficiency. This was due to oxidation by the platinum-supported alumina catalyst (Pt/γ-Al2O3), which was done at low temperature, thus transforming carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. The catalyst demonstrated reusability, attaining >80% carbon monoxide removal efficiency for 5 consecutive carbonization cycles. The biochar produced contained a high energy content of 24.6 ± 0.7 MJ kg−1, which was suitable to be used as a coal substitute.