An Experimental study of the Stability of Rice Husk Pyrolysis Oil through Esterification
Hendrix Yulis Setyawan* (1), M. Migi Fachry Selahuddin (1), Yusron Sugiarto (2), Mingming Zhu (3), Chiemeka Onyeka Okoye (4), Karlina Wijayanti (1)

(1) Department of Agroindustry, Faculty of Technology of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya,
(2) Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Technology of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya,
(3) School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK
(4) Centre for Energy (M473), The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
* corresponding author: hendrix[at]ub.ac.id

Abstract

The utilization of rice husk waste can be achieved by converting it into value added products such as pyrolysis oil through pyrolysis at 600 degrees for 2 hours. However, pyrolysis oil exhibits instability and oxidation susceptibility, necessitating quality enhancement via esterification to convert organic acids into more stable ester compounds, making it a viable fuel option. This study aims to analyze the impact of different catalysts and storage durations on the physical and chemical characteristics of rice husk pyrolysis oil. The research employed two factors, catalyst type and storage duration. Parameters tested included acid number, moisture content, pH, calorific value, density, viscosity, and FTIR analysis. Results showed significant effects of both catalyst type and storage duration on each physical and chemical parameter. This study demonstrates that esterification with acid catalysts can significantly improve the physical and chemical stability of pyrolysis oil, with HCl proving to be the most effective catalyst under the conditions tested.

Keywords: Esterification- Pyrolysis Oil- Rice Husk- Pyrolysis- Biofuel.

Topic: Renewable energy and biorefinery