Bioenergy Conversion Strategy of Olive Pomace Using Pyrolysis Process: Effect of Temperature on Yield and Product Analysis

The energy crisis is on the rise across various countries, including Pakistan, and sustainable pathways are explored for tackling this challenge. Utilizing biomass for energy generation has proved to be a potential avenue in this regard. Olive cultivation is increasing in Pakistan, and the waste of this industry can be utilized for generating energy and improving available biofuels. Therefore, in this study, pyrolysis of olive industry waste is performed at different temperatures of 400, 500 and 600 °C, to evaluate the influence of temperature on the pyrolysis yield and products. Increasing pyrolysis temperature results in enhanced breakdown of complex organic compounds present in biomass leading to higher yields of liquid (55wt%) and gaseous (27wt%) products. Furthermore, comprehensive characterization on the biochar reveals that porosity of biochar improves with increasing temperature. Gross calorific value of biochar found to be 33,668.85 kJ/kg is relatively higher than several of commonly available biochars such as corn straw biochar (26,200 kJ/kg) and rice husk biochar (21,750 kJ/kg). Also, bio-oil contains potential compounds such as fatty acid methyl esters, hexadecanoic acid and alkanes such as tetradecane and heptadecane which can be useful for enhancing combustion characteristics and viscosity of biofuels. Similarly, the gases obtained can be upgraded to form biomethane and biohythane. The results provide insights into further applications of olive pomace pyrolysis products for energy generation meanwhile providing a pathway for reducing waste from olive oil industry.