Pyrolysis of Saudi Arabian date palm waste: A viable option for converting waste into wealth

Saudi Arabia has about 23 million palm trees and it is the second largest producer of dates. The biomass from the trimmed branches of palm trees amount to more than 200,000 tons/year. This biomass waste can be used to produce many commercial products. There are several relevant technologies for conversion of biomass and solid wastes into higher value products. The starting point of the project is the pretreatment of palm solid wastes. Thermogravimetric analysis has been done to understand the pyrolysis behavior of palm date wastes. A fluidized bed (FB) has been designed and to study hydrodynamics and develop optimum conditions for the pyrolysis of palm wastes. A novel fluidized bed test rig has been designed and fabricated to carry out the pyrolysis of palm wastes. The pyrolysis is used to produce activated carbon and the waste can also be readily converted to liquid phenolic products. Liquid products are particularly interesting because they have a higher energy density and can be used to produce adhesives as well as biofuels for use in power generation and transport sector. Experimental results have indicated potential opportunities of using the date biomass waste as a potential fuel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.