Modelling and simulation of fast pyrolysis of pomace from three-phase olive mill targeting optimal yields of pyrolysis products

Biomass can be transformed into useful bioproducts (biofuels, biomaterials) through its thermochemical conversion. This study concerns modeling and simulation of fast pyrolysis of olive pomace from three-phase olive mill using Super Pro Designer (SPD) software, which was selected because of its vast databank of specific chemical compounds as well as specific unit operations specifically designed for modeling and simulation of biological, physical and chemical processes. The simulation was carried out at pyrolysis temperatures ranging from 400 to 675 & DEG;C and residence times varying between 0.1 and 15s. Simulation results indicate that fast pyrolysis yielded maximum bio-oil yield of 23.72% at 650 & DEG;C and a residence time of 0.1s, and maximum syngas yield of 41.17% at 675 & DEG;C and a residence time of 15s. Predicted product yields were in accordance with experimental data collected from the literature, with relative errors in the range of 9%, which may be due to variable feedstock properties. The developed model provides very useful information on olive pomace fast pyrolysis conditions. With a world production of olive oil amounting to 3,098,500 tons for the 2021/2022 campaign [12], the expected production of olive pomace by extraction by three-phase centrifugation system would be 8,520,875 tons/year. This amount of olive waste poses constraints especially when it is discharged without any treatment into the natural environment due to its high phytotoxicity and antimicrobial properties .The specific solution to solve this problem consists in its thermochemical valorisation by fast pyrolysis which converts large quantities of residues into (biofuels). To our knowledge, until now, the fast pyrolysis of olive pomace has been addressed by only a few authors, and there is no study focused on the modeling and simulation of the fast pyrolysis of olive pomace using the super pro designer simulator. Therefore, in our study, modeling and simulation of olive pomace fast pyrolysis is performed to identify the optimal pyrolysis temperatures and residence times that achieve the highest biofuels yield, with potential applications to optimize the design of pilot and large-scale pyrolysis units.