Pyrolytic Conversion of Vomitoxin-Contaminated Corn into Value-Added Products

Shokooh Karami, Sadegh Papari, Naomi B. Klinghoffer () and Franco Berruti
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Shokooh Karami: Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Sadegh Papari: Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Naomi B. Klinghoffer: Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Franco Berruti: Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-17

Abstract: Deoxynivalenol (DON) (also called vomitoxin) is a mycotoxin caused by pathogens that periodically contaminate crops such as maize, wheat, barley, oats, and rye, making them unusable. We explored pyrolysis as a process for the decontamination of vomitoxin-corn grains and their transformation into value-added products. Pyrolysis was carried out in a bench-scale batch reactor at maximum temperatures between 450 and 650 °C. This resulted in the total destruction of DON, from 5–7 ppm in raw corn grains to non-detectable levels in the treated bio-char. The effect of pyrolysis conditions, including temperature and heating rate, on the conversion of toxic corn grains was investigated. The maximum bio-oil yield was achieved at 650 °C (47 wt.%). The co-products were bio-char (29 wt.%) and non-condensable gases (24 wt.%). Acetic acid and levoglucosan were the two major valuable components in the bio-oil, corresponding to 26 g/kg and 13 g/kg of bio-oil, respectively. The bio-chars were analyzed and upgraded by physical activation using CO 2 at 900 °C. Activation increased the bio-char surface area to 419 m 2 g −1 and promoted pore development, which was verified by SEM. Proximate analysis illustrated that stable carbon increased to 88.8% after activation compared to 10.9% in the raw corn. FT-IR results showed that the thermally unstable functional groups had been completely eliminated after activation. All characterization results confirmed that the activated corn bio-char has excellent potential for adsorption processes. The HHV of the non-condensable gas stream was 16.46 MJ/Nm 3 , showing the potential application of this product as an energy source.

Keywords: deoxynivalenol (DON); corn grain; pyrolysis; activated bio-char; adsorption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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