Utilization of the UAE date palm leaf biochar in carbon dioxide capture and sequestration processes
Imen Ben Salem, Maisa El Gamal, Manish Sharma, Suhaib M. Hameedi, Fares M. Howari
Abstract
This paper evaluates the potential use of date palm leaf biochar as a climate change solution through CO 2 capture and sequestration. The pyrolysis of date palm leaf was performed at different temperatures 300°, 400°, 500°, and 600 °C. The physicochemical characteristics of the synthesized biochar were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Direct gas-solid interaction was carried out in an integrated Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR), connected with a gas analyzer for maximum and effective mixing between the biochar and CO 2 . LabView program was used as data acquisition for an instantaneous calculation of CO 2 adsorption. This study showed that the date palm biochar as porous carbon-based materials has high CO 2 adsorption capacity through physisorption and chemisorption progressions. The adsorption results showed a maximum CO 2 capture percentage of 0.09 kg CO 2 /kg, 0.15 kg CO 2 /kg, 0.20 kg CO 2 /kg, and 0.25 kg CO 2 /kg palm biochar synthesized at 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. This paper paid attention to the inexpensive technology applied in CO 2 sequestration, where fluidization provides well mixing of biochar particles with low operation cost. • This study aims to prepare different biochar from date palm leaf (DPL) waste and evaluate its CO 2 capture and sequestration capacity. • Biochar samples were pyrolyzed at different temperatures and were characterized using SEM-EDS, FTIR, TGA, and XRD. • The gas-solid reaction was achieved in the integrated fluidized bed reactor on the different DPL biochar particles. Results indicated that the DPL biochar has a high CO 2 adsorption capacity. • The CO 2 sequestration of the DPL ranged from 07 to 25%, based on different temperatures of biochar pyrolysis.