A comprehensive study on by-products of food processing industry pyrolysis using a thermobalance reactor coupled to GC-FID/TCD: Mass, atomic and energy balances, thermokinetic modeling, product distribution, and characterization

Abstract The current study aims to investigate the pyrolysis process and bioenergetic potential of pineapple peel and passion fruit shell wastes (by-products of food processing industry) by the physicochemical characterization, mass balance, energy balance, atomic balance, and kinetic study. Pyrolysis was performed at low heating rates (5, 10, and 15 °C min−1) in an argon atmosphere in a thermobalance reactor coupled to GC-FID/TCD. The pyrolysis showed a higher yield of non-condensable gases that had low calorific value ( 370 °C). For the kinetic study, it was assumed the presence of four pseudo-components, which were extracted from thermogravimetric data using the deconvolution tool. The kinetic parameters obtained from the Vyazovkin method, compensation effect, and mater plot could satisfactorily describe the pyrolysis process of both biomasses, with a determination coefficient greater than 0.9.