Characterization of the Aqueous Phase from Pyrolysis of Açaí Seeds and Fibers ( Euterpe oleracea Mart.)

Erick Monteiro de Sousa, Kelly Christina Alves Bezerra, Renan Marcelo Pereira Silva, Gabriel Arthur da Costa Martins, Gabriel Xavier de Assis, Raise Brenda Pinheiro Ferreira, Lucas Pinto Bernar, Neyson Martins Mendonça, Carmen Gilda Barroso Tavares Dias, Douglas Alberto Rocha de Castro, Gabriel de Oliveira Rodrigues, Sergio Duvoisin Junior, Marta Chagas Monteiro and Nélio Teixeira Machado ()
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Erick Monteiro de Sousa: Graduate Program of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Kelly Christina Alves Bezerra: Graduate Program of Civil Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Renan Marcelo Pereira Silva: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Gabriel Arthur da Costa Martins: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Gabriel Xavier de Assis: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Raise Brenda Pinheiro Ferreira: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Lucas Pinto Bernar: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Neyson Martins Mendonça: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Carmen Gilda Barroso Tavares Dias: Graduate Program of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Douglas Alberto Rocha de Castro: Centro Universitário Luterano de Manaus—CEULM/ULBRA, Avenida Carlos Drummond de Andrade N°. 1460, Manaus 69077-730, Brazil
Gabriel de Oliveira Rodrigues: Department of Chemistry, Coordination of Chemical Engineering, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas-UEA, Avenida Darcy Vargas N°. 1200, Manaus 69050-020, Brazil
Sergio Duvoisin Junior: Department of Chemistry, Coordination of Chemical Engineering, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas-UEA, Avenida Darcy Vargas N°. 1200, Manaus 69050-020, Brazil
Marta Chagas Monteiro: Graduate Program of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-900, Brazil
Nélio Teixeira Machado: Graduate Program of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Professional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa N° 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-19

Abstract: Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) is a native fruit of the Amazon, and its production chain is centered in the state of Pará. The processing of açaí fruits generates large amounts of solid waste, which can pose serious risks to the environment if not used and managed properly. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that until this moment, no research had been reported in the literature on the pyrolysis of açaí fibers and the chemical composition of the aqueous phase, making possible a broad set of applications including biogas production. The present research proposes a study of the pyrolysis of açaí seeds and fibers and the physicochemical and compositional characterization of the aqueous phase products. In this way, açaí processing residues were collected in the city of Belém, PA. The seeds and fibers were dried and impregnated with NaOH solutions, and subsequently subjected to pyrolysis on a laboratory scale. The liquid products from pyrolysis were characterized through acidity index analysis, FT-IR, and gas chromatography. The increase in the concentration of the impregnating agent led to an increase in bio-oil yield from both the seeds (ranging from 3.3% to 6.6%) and the fibers (ranging from 1.2% to 3.7%). The yield in the aqueous phase showed an inverse behavior, decreasing as the concentration of NaOH increased, both in the seeds (ranging from 41% to 37.5%) and the fibers (ranging from 33.7% to 21.2%). High acidity levels were found in the liquid products studied, which decreased as the concentration of the impregnating agent increased. The increase in the concentration of the impregnating agent (NaOH) influenced the chemical composition of the obtained liquid products, leading to a decrease in oxygenated compounds and an increase in nitrogenous compounds in both experimental matrices, which was also evidenced by the reduction in acidity.

Keywords: biomass wastes; açaí seeds and fibers; chemical activation; pyrolysis process; characterization of aqueous phase (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: 2025
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