This study examined the combustion profile and kinetics of hydrochar produced from hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) of Karanj fruit hulls (KFH). The HTC-KFH hydrochar combustion kinetics was investigated at 5, 10, and 20°C/min by thermogravimetric analysis. The kinetics model, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose revealed the combustion kinetics parameters for the extent of conversion from 0.1 to 0.8; the activation energy varies from 114 to 67 kJ/mol respectively. The hydrochar combustion followed multi-steps kinetics; the Coats-Redfern models predicted the activation energies and pre-exponential constants for the hydrochar combustion zones. The diffusion models are the effective mechanism in the second and third zone.
The pyrolysis of karanj fruit hulls (KFH) and karanj fruit hull hydrothermal carbonization (KFH-HTC) hydrochar was thermogravimetrically investigated under a nitrogen environment at 5 °C/min, 10 °C/min, and 20 °C/min. The pyrolysis decomposition of KFH biomass was faster than that of KFH-HTC hydrochar because of the high volatility and fixed carbon of KFH biomass. Weight loss percentage was also affected by the heating rates. The kinetic data were evaluated with the Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa methods. The activation energy values obtained with these two methods were 61.06 and 68.53 kJ/mol for KFH biomass and 130.49 and 135.87 kJ/mol for KFH-HTC hydrochar, respectively. The analysis of kinetic process mechanisms was verified with the Coats-Redfern method. KFH-HTC hydrochar may play a potential role in transforming biomass to energy-rich feedstock for thermochemical applications because of its high heating value, high fixed carbon, and low ash and sulfur contents.
The combustion characteristics of Malaysia oil palm biomass (palm kernel shell (PKS), palm mesocarp fibre (PMF) and empty fruit bunches (EFB)), sub-bituminous coal (Mukah Balingian) and coal/biomass blends via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were investigated. Six weight ratios of coal/biomass blends were prepared and oxidised under dynamic conditions from temperature 25 to 1100°C at four heating rates. The thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the EFB and PKS evolved additional peak besides drying, devolatilisation and char oxidation steps during combustion. Ignition and burn out temperatures of blends were improved in comparison to coal. No interactions were observed between the coal and biomass during combustion. The apparent activation energy during this process was evaluated using iso-conversional model free kinetics which resulted in highest activation energy during combustion of PKS followed by PMF, EFB and MB coal. Blending oil palm biomass with coal reduces the apparent activation energy value.
Microencapsulation is a process by which tiny parcels of an active ingredient are packaged within a second material for the purpose of shielding the active ingredient from the surrounding environment. This study aims to determine the ability of the microencapsulation technique to improve the viability of Trichoderma harzianum UPM40 originally isolated from healthy groundnut roots as effective biological control agents (BCAs). Alginate was used as the carrier for controlled release, and montmorillonite clay (MMT) served as the filler. The encapsulated Ca-alginate-MMT beads were characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The FTIR results showed the interaction between the functional groups of alginate and MMT in the Ca-alginate-MMT beads. Peaks at 1595, 1420 and 1020 cm(-1) characterised alginate, and peaks at 1028 and 453 cm(-1) characterised MMT; both sets of peaks appeared in the Ca-alginate-MMT FTIR spectrum. The TGA analysis showed an improvement in the thermal stability of the Ca-alginate-MMT beads compared with the alginate beads alone. SEM analysis revealed a homogeneous distribution of the MMT particles throughout the alginate matrix. T. harzianum UPM40 was successfully encapsulated in the Ca-alginate-MMT beads. Storage analysis of the encapsulated T. harzianum UPM40 showed that the low storage temperature of 5°C resulted in significantly (p
Lard being an edible fat could be used in different forms in food systems. In this study, composition and thermal analysis of lard stearin (LS) and lard olein (LO) were undertaken to determine some common parameters which would enable their detection in food. A sample of native lard was partitioned into LS and LO using acetone as solvent and the fractions were compared to the original sample with respect to basic physico-chemical parameters, fatty acid and triacylglycerol (TAG) composition, and thermal characteristics. Although LS and LO displayed wider variations in basic physico-chemical parameters, thermal properties and solidification behavior, they do possess some common characteristic features with regard to composition. In spite of the proportional differences in the major fatty acids, both LS and LO are found to possess extremely high amount of palmitic (C16:0) acid at the sn-2 positions of their TAG molecules. Similar to native lard, both LS and LO contained approximately equal proportions of TAG molecules namely, linoleoyl-palmitoyl-oleoyl glycerol (LPO) and dioleoyl-palmitoyl glycerol (OPO). Hence, the calculated LPO/OPO ratio for LS and LO are comparably similar to that of native lard.
In this work, the oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber was used as a source of lignocellulosic filler to fabricate a novel type of cost effective biodegradable composite, based on the aliphatic aromatic co-polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) PBAT (Ecoflex™), as a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix. The aim of this research was to improve the new biocomposites' performance by chemical modification using succinic anhydride (SAH) as a coupling agent in the presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiators. For the composite preparation, several blends were prepared with varying ratios of filler and matrix using the melt blending technique. The composites were prepared at various fiber contents of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (wt %) and characterized. The effects of fiber loading and coupling agent loading on the thermal properties of biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological studies. The chemical structure of the new biocomposites was also analyzed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique. The PBAT biocomposite reinforced with 40 (wt %) of EFB fiber showed the best mechanical properties compared to the other PBAT/EFB fiber biocomposites. Biocomposite treatment with 4 (wt %) succinic anhydride (SAH) and 1 (wt %) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) improved both tensile and flexural strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus. The FTIR analyses proved the mechanical test results by presenting the evidence of successful esterification using SAH/DCP in the biocomposites' spectra. The SEM micrograph of the tensile fractured surfaces showed the improvement of fiber-matrix adhesion after using SAH. The TGA results showed that chemical modification using SAH/DCP improved the thermal stability of the PBAT/EFB biocomposite.