UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
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UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
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| Abstract : Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris |
| This research aimed to assess the properties of biochar fuel produced using microwave-assisted carbonisation of oil palm trunk core (OPTC) biomass. Microwave-assisted carbonisation of OPTC was investigated under several sizes, temperatures and microwave power variables. The fuel properties of raw OPTC and biochar products were characterised by physical and chemical analyses. An open-ended coaxial probe method was used to measure the effect of frequency, moisture content and structural direction towards dielectric properties of OPTC. The result showed that raw OPTC contained high moisture content (~64.3%), low fixed carbon (~6.4%) and low calorific value (0.0046 GJkg-1). Dielectric constant of OPTC was found to decrease with the increasing of microwave frequency. Regardless of OPTC structural directions, an increasing pattern of dielectric constant and dielectric loss was detected with the increasing moisture content in biomass. The increasing of carbonisation temperatures resulted in decreased biochar yield. The optimum conditions which yielded 8.4% biochar was obtained at 350oC, power 800W and 6 cm3 OPTC size. In conclusion, OPTC can be classified as a medium absorbing biomass. Microwave-assisted carbonisation has produced biochar with four times higher calorific value than raw OPTC. The implication of this study is OPTC biochar has high slagging and fouling tendencies that could impose technical challenges in the future bioenergy applications. |
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