Systematic production and characterization of pyrolysis-oil from date tree wastes for bio-fuel applications

Abstract The prevailing trends in global energy consumption and the rapid depletion of fossil fuel present an urgent need for alternative fuels, particularly from renewable sources of biomass. In this study, date palm tree mixture wastes (DTM) and date seed (DS) biomass were used as starting materials in the production of bio-oil by pyrolysis. The yields of the pyrolysis oils from DTM and DS were optimized by tuning the experimental parameters. The DS provided a maximum yield of 68 wt% obtained from 30 min of pyrolysis with a biomass loading of 200 g, fluidizing gas flow rate of 10 mL min−1, and at a temperature of 500 °C. In addition, we evaluated the impact of the aging process of the obtained pyrolysis oils. The produced pyrolysis oils (freshly made) were aged for 15 and 30 days at room temperature under closed conditions. All the feedstock biomass were subjected to proximate and ultimate analysis. The TG-DTA results indicated that both biomasses were richer in cellulose and hemicellulose contents than in lignin content. The FT-IR and GC/MS analyses of the fresh and aged oil samples demonstrated the outstanding characteristics of the DS derived bio-oil for use as a bio-fuel. The variation in the chemical composition of the fresh and aged pyrolysis oils are completely described and presented elaborately. This study demonstrates the significance of and a new functionality for the date palm industry to process date palm wastes, particularly the DS as a rich biomass source for the production of bio-fuel.