Name: DIEGO ALVES BOA CEZAR
Publication date: 19/02/2025
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| BEATRIZ CRISTINA SILVÉRIO | Examinador Externo |
| ÉRICA VICTOR DE FARIA | Examinador Externo |
| TAISA SHIMOSAKAI DE LIRA | Presidente |
Summary: Due to the growing need for clean energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, alongside the challenges associated with managing waste from production processes, lignocellulosic materials such as eucalyptus biomass have emerged as an alternative to fossil fuels. Pyrolysis is a technology capable of converting biomass into energy or higher-value-added products. However, its main product, bio-oil, has a high content of oxygenated compounds, which limits its direct use as a fuel. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the co-pyrolysis of eucalyptus bark (EB) with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), catalytic pyrolysis using the natural zeolite clinoptilolite, and catalytic co-pyrolysis, with the objective of improving both the yield and the chemical composition of the resulting bio-oil. The thermal degradation behavior of EB, LDPE, clinoptilolite, and the mixtures subjected to catalytic pyrolysis, co-pyrolysis, and catalytic co-pyrolysis was analyzed through thermogravimetric studies. The catalytic co-pyrolysis mixtures exhibited higher reactivity, requiring less heat for the reaction to occur, particularly the 1LDPE:1EB + 15% CLIN mixture, which displayed the lowest activation energy values: 95.4 kJ/mol using the KAS method and 102.05 kJ/mol using the Friedman method. The effects of the variable’s reaction temperature, LDPE concentration, and clinoptilolite concentration on the liquid product yield were analyzed. Statistical analyses revealed that the most significant factors influencing product yield were LDPE, clinoptilolite, and their interactions. Moreover, marginal means analysis showed that the maximum bio-oil yield was achieved with the catalytic co-pyrolysis of the 1LDPE:1EB mixture and 30% clinoptilolite at 973.15 K, resulting in a mass yield of 79.93%. Finally, the bio-oil characterization by GC-MS identified the major compounds, which were primarily aromatic phenolic compounds.
