Techno-Economic Analysis of Fast Pyrolysis of Date Palm Waste for Adoption in Saudi Arabia

Sulaiman Al Yahya, Tahir Iqbal, Muhammad Mubashar Omar and Munir Ahmad
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Sulaiman Al Yahya: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim University, Qassim 51452, Saudi Arabia
Tahir Iqbal: Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Muhammad Mubashar Omar: Department of Energy Systems Engineering, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Munir Ahmad: Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: Date palm trees, being an important source of nutrition, are grown at a large scale in Saudi Arabia. The biomass waste of date palm, discarded of in a non-environmentally-friendly manner at present, can be used for biofuel generation through the fast pyrolysis technique. This technique is considered viable for thermochemical conversion of solid biomass into biofuels in terms of the initial investment, production cost, and operational cost, as well as power consumption and thermal application cost. In this study, a techno-economic analysis has been performed to assess the feasibility of converting date palm waste into bio-oil, char, and burnable gases by defining the optimum reactor design and thermal profile. Previous studies concluded that at an optimum temperature of 525 °C, the maximum bio-oil, char and gases obtained from pyrolysis of date palm waste contributed 38.8, 37.2 and 24% of the used feed stock material (on weight basis), respectively, while fluidized bed reactor exhibited high suitability for fast pyrolysis. Based on the pyrolysis product percentage, the economic analysis estimated the net saving of USD 556.8 per ton of the date palm waste processed in the pyrolysis unit. It was further estimated that Saudi Arabia could earn USD 44.77 million per annum, approximately, if 50% of the total date palm waste were processed through fast pyrolysis, with a payback time of 2.57 years. Besides that, this intervention will reduce 2029 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, contributing towards a lower carbon footprint.

Keywords: pyrolysis; date palm waste; techno-economic; fluidized bed reactor; biofuels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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