Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Reactor Temperature on African Oak (Oldfieldia africana) Sawdust Pyrolysis

Abstract

The need to convert waste to wealth for sustainable development cannot be overemphasized. In this work, effect of reactor temperature on product yields from pyrolysis of African Oak (Oldfieldia africana) sawdust in a fixed bed reactor was investigated.  Sawdust sample was obtained from Paki-Otan sawmill,Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Nigeria. The sample was sundried for three days and then oven dried at 104 ^oC for 2 hours in order to reduce its moisture content. Samples of 50 g each were pyrolysed at different temperatures (300, 400, 500 and 600 ^oC) for 15 minutes at atmospheric pressure. Results showed that char yield decreased while gas yield increased as reactor temperature increased. Tar (bio-oil) yield increased with temperature up to 500 ^oC and then decreased with further increase in temperature. Secondary pyrolysis became significant above 500 ^oC. The ranges of char, bio-oil and gas yields were 22.70 – 47.50%, 32.30 – 41.80% and 20.20 – 38.20%, respectively. Sawdust from wood processing industry has the potential to be a source of biofuels for environmentally friendly utilization.