Thermogravimetric study on the pyrolysis kinetics of apple pomace as waste biomass

• Biomass waste-to-energy to produce valuable chemicals and H2.
• Biomass waste from apple pomace (APB), a residue from apple juice extraction.
• APB; calorific value, compositional, proximal and elemental analyzes.
• Activation energy values of 213.0 and 201.7 kJ/mol.

Biomass waste-to-energy is an attractive alternative to fossil feedstocks because of essentially zero net CO2 impact. A viable option consists in an integrated process, in which biomass is partly used to produce valuable chemicals with residual fractions employed for hydrogen production. One example of a biomass waste is the apple pomace, which is the residue generated in the process of extraction of apple juice. In this research, a kinetic study of the pyrolysis of apple pomace biomass (APB) was performed by TGA aiming its liquid and gaseous products be utilized for the production of valuable chemicals and hydrogen. Characterization of APB consisted in calorific value, compositional, proximal and elemental analyzes. Kinetics were evaluated using three iso-conversional TGA models at 5, 10, 15 and 20 °C/min. Activation energy values of 213.0 and 201.7 kJ/mol were within the range for hemicellulose and cellulose, respectively, which are the main components of biomass.