Characterization of Empty Fruit Bunch under Torrefaction process.

Torrefaction is a thermal pre-treatment process to pre-treat biomass at
temperature range of 200-300°C under an inert atmosphere. It was known that
torrefaction process strongly depended on the decomposition of the lignocellulose
constituents in biomass namely hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. In this study, the
torrefaction behaviour of Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) was investigated. The study
focuses on the relation between the lignocellulose constituents with torrefaction
process. Residence time of 15 minutes was used and then submitted to five final
torrefaction temperatures of 200, 240, 260, 280 and 300°C. The process was carried
out by using D2 Phaser and S2 Ranger for x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and x-ray
fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Bomb calorimeter also was used in this study to identify
the calorific value of EFB. The results show the changes of phases of lignocellulose
membrane from crystalline phase to amorphous phase as the temperature increases.
The calorific value also increases as the torrefaction temperatures increase. From this
experimental analyses, empty fruit bunch (EFB) had been found to be suitable for
energy production.