CHARACTERIZATION OF TORREFIED EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH AND PALM KERNEL SHELL IN THE PRESENCE OF BIOMASS PELLET COMBUSTION GAS

Being the world second largest producer and exporter of palm oil, Malaysia’s palm oil industry generate a total of 85 – 110 million tonnes of solid biomass annually and a large percentage of these biomass are left underutilized due to its inferior properties compared to commercial solid fuels. Torrefaction, a mild thermochemical pre-treatment at 473 – 573K in inert atmosphere is proven as one of the promising methods in producing an energy denser biomass. However, continuous supply of nitrogen gas for torrefaction is a challenge in commercializing this technology for a large-scale biofuel production. In view of this, industrial flue gas has been proposed as a torrefaction gas to replace nitrogen gas.