Hydropyrolysis of Jatropha Seed de-Oiled Cake: Estimation of Kinetic Parameters

There is an increasing demand of hydrocarbons owing to the fluctuations in crude oil prices and reduced fossil resources. Lignocellulosic biomass is seen as a potential renewable source of sustainable hydrocarbons. The hydropyrolysis of jatropha seed de-oiled cake has been carried out at various hydropyrolysis temperatures (300, 350, 400 and 450 degrees C) and pressures of hydrogen (1, 20, 40 and 52 bar). It has been observed that the liquid bio-oil yields have increased with pyrolysis temperature and pressure. It was also found that 40 bar is the optimum value of hydrogen pressure for the hydropyrolysis reactions at 450 degrees C to obtain maximum liquid yield (17 wt.%) in the given experimental setup. The frequency factor of 98 s(-1) and activation energy of 29 kJ/mol are the lowest at 40 bar reaffirming the fact that heat and mass transfer limitations are the least at 40 bar pressure.