Abstract:
Energy demands keep increasing in this modern world as the world population increases,
which leads to a reduction in fossil fuels. To resolve these challenges, Pennisetum purpureum, an
invasive grass in Brunei Darussalam, was examined as the feedstock for renewable energy through
a catalytic pyrolysis process. The activated carbon was applied as the catalyst for a simple and
economical solution. The catalytic pyrolysis was executed at 500 ◦C (the temperature for the highest
biofuel yield) for both reactors to produce the highest amount of upgraded biofuels. The biochar
produced from the non-catalytic and catalytic pyrolysis processes showed a consistent yield due to
stable operating conditions, from which the activated carbon was generated and used as the catalyst
in this work. A significant amount of improvement was found in the production of biofuels, especially
bio-oil. It was found that for catalysts, the number of phenolic, alcohol, furans, and ketones was
increased by reducing the amount of acidic, aldehyde, miscellaneous oxygenated, and nitrogenous
composites in bio-oils. The highest amount of phenolic compounds was produced due to a number
of functional groups (-C=O and -OH) in activated carbon. The regenerated activated carbons also
showed promising outcomes as catalysts for upgrading the bio-oils. The overall performance of
synthesized and regenerated activated carbon as a catalyst in catalytic pyrolysis was highly promising
for improving the quality and stability of bio-oil.
