A kinetic study on pyrolysis and combustion characteristics of oil cakes: Effect of cellulose and lignin content

Pyrolysis and combustion characteristics of three different oil cakes such as Pongamia (Pongamia Pinnata), Madhuca (Madhuca Indica), and Jatropha (Jatropha Curcas) were investigated in this study. The cellulose and lignin contents of oil cakes play very important role in pyrolysis and combustion processes. A kinetic investigation of three oil cakes was carried out and major part of the samples decomposed between 210°C and 500°C. Pyrolysis and combustion were carried out with the mixtures of cellulose and lignin chemicals in different ratios and compared with the oil cakes. The biomass with higher cellulose content showed faster rate of pyrolysis than the biomass with higher lignin content. However at higher temperatures (>600°C) all the oil cakes exhibited similar conversion at low heating rate in N2 atmosphere. Apparent activation energies increased for Madhuca and Pongamia oil cakes indicating the presence of more cellulose whereas, low activation energy of Jatropha confirms more lignin content.