Pyrolysis of different date palm industrial wastes into high-quality bio-oils: A comparative study

This paper presents a detailed assessment on the yield and quality of bio-oil produced from the fast pyrolysis process of date seeds and date syrup industrial waste. Pyrolysis experiments were conducted at a temperature of 500 °C for 30 min using a laboratory-scale semi-batch reactor equipped with an inline condensing system to separate the oil fraction from the non-condensable pyrolysis gases. The physical and chemical properties of the condensed bio-oil from date seeds and syrup waste feedstocks are analyzed and compared. Results showed that the pyrolytic oil obtained from date seeds possessed relatively higher kinematic viscosity (1.42 × 10−3 kg/m s) and high heating value (29.06 × 106 J/kg) than syrup waste bio-oil (1.31 × 10−3 kg/m s and 19.29 × 106 J/kg). Gas chromatography mass–spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis of bio-oil obtained from date seeds and syrup waste primarily contained 2-furanmethanol (21.03%) and 2-fluoroformyl-3,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-1,2-oxazetidine (31.04%) with other valuable components, respectively. The pyrolytic oil of date seeds and syrup waste could be further refined and employed as building blocks for several value-added products in biofuel production and pharmaceutical/flavoring agents. Thus, the present study provides new functionality for the date palm industry to convert the waste products into valuable commodities.