In-Jun Hwang  Jae-Rak Jeon  Jinsoo Kim  Seung-Soo Kim

Vol. 29,  No. 3, pp. 200-216, Sep.  2023
10.7464/ksct.2023.29.3.200

Ginkgo leaves Bubbling fluidized bed reactor Fast pyrolysis Bio-oil

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Ginkgo leaves are considered waste biomass and can cause problems due to the strong insecticidal actions of ginkgolide A, B, C, and J and bilobalide. However, Ginkgo leaf biomass has high organic matter content that can be converted into fuels and chemicals if suitable technologies can be developed. In this study, the effect of pyrolysis temperature, minimum fluidized velocity, and Ginkgo leaf size on product yields and product properties were systematically analyzed. Fast pyrolysis was conducted in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor at 400 to 550℃ using silica sand as a bed material. The yield of pyrolysis liquids ranged from 33.66 to 40.01 wt%. The CO2 and CO contents were relatively high compared to light hydrocarbon gases because of decarboxylation and decarbonylation during pyrolysis. The CO content increased with the pyrolysis temperature while the CO2 content decreased. When the experiment was conducted at 450℃ with a 3.0×Umf fluidized velocity and a 0.43 to 0.71 mm particle size, the yield was 40.01 wt% and there was a heating value of 30.17 MJ/kg, respectively. The production of various phenol compounds and benzene derivatives in the bio-oil, which contains the high value products, was identified using GC-MS. This study demonstrated that fast pyrolysis is very robust and can be used for converting Ginkgo leaves into fuels and thus has the potential of becoming a method for waste recycling