Thermodynamic modelling and temperature sensitivity analysis of banana (Musa spp.) waste pyrolysis

Pyrolysis has been established as a good technique of recovering energy from biomass. In this study, a thermodynamic model was developed on ASPEN Plus V8.8 to study the temperature sensitivity and yield of products from the pyrolysis of different banana wastes. The wastes considered were banana peels, pseudo-stem and leaves. The model was validated with experimental results for pseudo-stem pyrolysis. From comparison, the pseudo-stem was observed to give a slightly higher yield of gas compared to the other residues. Thermodynamic predictions of gas yield are similar for the different feedstock at low temperatures but varying at higher temperatures with the leaves producing less. Furthermore, the yield of oil from leaves is less and that of char is higher than for the other residues. The fluid phase products (bio-oil and syn-gas) were higher for pseudo-stem than for the other residues due to greater proportion of volatile matter from the proximate analysis. The suitability of banana pseudo-stem for bio-oil production via pyrolysis is established in comparison with the other residues studied. The leaves and peel are more suitable for low-temperature thermochemical processing for bio-char production.