Catalytic pyrolysis of coconut shell in fixed-bed reactor.

Pyrolysis of coconut shell was investigated in a fixed-bed reactor to determine the effects of pyrolysis parameters (temperature and heating rate). The effect of zeolite and dolomite catalyst on the product yields and the qualities of the liquid product was investigated. The result showed that the optimal conditions for liquid (bio-oil) yield (48.03%) were at pyrolysis temperature of 4500C, heating rate of 50 °C/min, gas flow rate of 50 L/min and particle size of 300 µm. The yield of bio-oil without catalyst is higher than with catalyst. However, the characterisation of bio-oil, indicated that the catalytic pyrolysis upgraded the bio-oil quality. The coconut shell showed that the bio-oil was highly oxygenated containing high fraction of phenol-based compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]