Obtain of biofuel and char from pyrolysis of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) waste

Biomass is one of the abundant renewable energy sources. Today, intensive studies are being done with biomass. Since the first ages, pyrolysis technology has been known to produce gas, liquid organic compounds and solid products (char) from biomass. The yield of pyrolysis products depends on the pyrolysis technology and parameters used. In this study, the pumpkin wastes which were produced during the separation of the seeds from the seeds grown as biomass were used. Prior to the pyrolysis process of core paprika waste; gravimetry, extraction, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and EDX (Energy Dispersive X-Ray). Pyrolysis was carried out in an inert atmospheric (nitrogen gas) fixed bed reactor for the purpose of obtaining gas, liquid and solid products for core poultry waste. In this pyrolysis process, the temperature and the heating effect were investigated in order to obtain a liquid product higher than the core paprika waste. The highest yield in liquid product was obtained at a heating duration of 55 min, a pyrolysis temperature of 550 °C, a heating rate of 10 °C/min and a particle size range of Dp <6.25 mm. The liquid product yield obtained with these parameters was found to be 33.02%. GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy) and FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) analyzes were performed to determine the composition of this product. Calorific value of the liquid product is also calculated by calorimetry. When all these data are evaluated, it is seen that the liquid product obtained by pyrolysis of the pumpkin can be used as chemical raw material and liquid fuel.