The production and evaluation of bio-oils from the pyrolysis of sunflower-oil cake

Sunflower (Helianthus annus L.)-oil cake pyrolysis experiments were achieved in a fixed-bed tubular reactor. The effects of nitrogen flow rate and final pyrolysis temperature on the pyrolysis product yields and chemical compositions have been investigated. The maximum bio-oil yield of 48.69 wt% was obtained in nitrogen atmosphere with nitrogen flow rate of 100 cm3 min−1 and at a pyrolysis temperature of 550°C with a heating rate of 5°Cs−1. Chromatographic and spectroscopic studies on the pyrolytic oil showed that the oil obtained from sunflower-oil cake can be used as a renewable fuel and chemical feedstocks.