TORREFACTION OF OLIVE STONES FOR ENERGY USE

Abstract

The heavy dependency of fossil fuels has led to the detrimental effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, two-thirds being CO2, on health, environment, and climate. The need for all kinds of renewable energy (RE) stays the centre of attention and efforts. This study targets the lignocellulosic biomass part of renewable energies by investigating the torrefaction of olive stones (OS) for energy uses. Torrefaction temperature (T), residence time (RT), and particle size (PS) were the parameters studied and the optimum operation conditions were found to be 268oC, 40mins, and 2.5mm, respectively. This biomass thermochemical treatment method produces solid char as the intended product with a yield of 60.5% and a high heat content of 23.81kJ/kg putting it amongst good grade coals. Further physical properties and chemical characteristics like morphology (using SEM), thermal behaviour (using TGA), chemical species (using FTIR, proximate and ultimate analysis), and hydrophobicity were examined.