Effect of Grain Size, Temperature and Catalyst Amount on Pyrolysis Products of Spirulina Platensis Residue (SPR)

• Main Authors: Siti Jamilatun, Budhijanto budhijanto, Rochmadi, Avido Yuliestyan, Arief Budiman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universitas Indonesia 2019-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Technology
• Subjects: Alumina silica; Bio-oil pyrolysis; Fixed-bed; Spirulina platensis residue
• Online Access: http://ijtech.eng.ui.ac.id/article/view/2918
• ISSN: 2086-9614; 2087-2100

Spirulina platensis microalgae is one of the feedstocks used in the production of the third generation of biofuel. The extraction of its lipid for biodiesel leaves behind a residue, which can be treated by pyrolysis to create certain other value-added products. This paper discusses the effects of Spirulina platensis residue (SPR) with respect to grain size (0.105, 0.149 and 0.177 mm), temperature (300 to 600°C) and amount of catalyst (0, 10, 20 and 40 wt.%) on the characteristics of products (bio-oil, water phase, char and gas) obtained from pyrolysis in a fixed-bed reactor. The results of the study show that the higher the pyrolysis temperature, the higher the conversion. For the bio-oil product, the optimum temperature is 500°C, which produces a peak yield of 35.99 wt.%. The larger the grain size, the lower the bio-oil yield, gas water and gas, for all of the tested temperatures (300–600°C). The amount of catalyst and the pyrolysis temperature greatly influence the quality of bio-oil products, grouping them into the fractions of LPG (C ? 4), gasoline (C5–C11), biodiesel (C12–C18) and heavy naphtha (C ? 19). The tendency for LPG-Gasoline formation at optimum conditions, considering the use of a 10 wt.% catalyst at a temperature of 400–500°C, was reported.