Mas Fatiha Mohamad

Pre-treatment of Malaysian agricultural wastes toward biofuel production

Various renewable energy technologies are under considerable interest due to the projected depletion of our primary sources of energy and global warming associated with their utilizations. One of the alternatives under focus is renewable fuels produced from agricultural wastes. Malaysia, being one of the largest producers of palm oil, generates abundant agricultural wastes such as fibers, shells, fronds, and trunks with the potential to be converted to biofuels. However, prior to conversion of these materials to useful products, pre-treatment of biomass is essential as it influences the energy utilization in the conversion process and feedstock quality. This chapter focuses on pre-treatment technology of palm-based agriculture waste prior to conversion to solid, liquid, and gas fuel. Pre-treatment methods can be classified into physical, thermal, biological, and chemicals or any combination of these methods. Selecting the most suitable pre-treatment method could be very challenging due to complexities of biomass properties. Physical treatment involves grinding and sieving of biomass into various particle sizes whereas thermal treatment consists of pyrolysis and torrefaction processes. Additionally biological and chemical treatment using enzymes and chemicals to derive lignin from biomass are also discussed.

Study on the physicochemical properties of Fe/CeO2 catalysts as an effect from different iron loading

The use of catalyst in the biomass gasification is effective to elevate hydrogen content and to reduce tar formation. This study presents the development of 2.5-10 wt% Fe/CeO2 catalysts for biomass gasification to hydrogen. The catalysts were prepared using incipient wetness impregnation method. Different characterization methods such as Powder XRay Diffraction (XRD), Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. BET analysis clearly indicates that Fe/CeO2 catalysts are mainly nonporous and the surface area of the catalysts increases with increasing of Fe loading. Characterization by XRD exhibited the formation of a solid solution of iron-cerium oxide, with the presence of cubic CeO2 structure which is in agreement with FESEM images. The TPR results show the emergence of two reduction peaks, corresponding to the surface and bulk reduction of CeO2 to Ce2O3. No distinct peak ...

Bimetallic Fe-Ni/Zeolite β Catalysts for Hydrogen Generation from Steam Gasification of Palm Kernel Shell

In this study, the potential usage of PKS as a direct source for hydrogen production is being explored in the presence of bimetallic Fe-Ni/Zeolite β (BEA) catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by co-impregnation method and calcined at temperatures between 500-700 oC to study the effect of calcination temperatures on the gas compositions from steam gasification of PKS. The textural properties and crystalline phase present were characterized using BET and X-Ray Diffraction. The catalysts were tested in steam gasification of PKS in a fixed-bed microreactor at 700 oC using 0.3 g catalyst and 0.9 g PKS. The steam to PKS ratio was 4:1 (vol) while steam to Ar ratio was 1:6 (vol.). The Fe-Ni/BEA catalysts possess lower surface area, higher pore volume and larger pore diameter as compared to the bare BEACalcination temperature is found to contribute to the crystallization of the prepared catalysts where high crystallization of Fe and Ni was observed in Fe-Ni/BEA (700) catalyst with the formation of NiO and NiFe2O4 phase. Fe-Ni/BEA (700) shows the highest composition of H2 gas produced with 76.32 vol% H2, 18.72 vol% CO2, 4.96 vol% CO and the absence of CH4. This shows that the steam gasification of PKS in the presence of Fe-Ni/BEA (700) has a potential to replace the commercial H2 production via methane reforming process.

Mo/γ-Al2O3-MgO as a Bifunctional Catalyst for Renewable Hydrogen Production from Steam Reforming of Glycerol

In this paper the catalytic steam reforming of glycerol to H2 has been evaluated in the presence of Mo/γ-Al2O3 and Mo/γ-Al2O3-MgO in a fixed-bed microreactor at 700 oC. Physiochemical properties of the Mo catalysts were explored by various analytical techniques such as N2 adsorption–desorption (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrum (XRF), Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Mo/γ-Al2O3-MgO catalysts show promising results with higher H2 concentration produced as compared to Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts. The Mo was found to be uniformly distributed on the surface of γ-Al2O3-MgO support and addition of MgO contents into γ-Al2O3 improves the dispersion of Mo on the surface of the support.

Biomass Conversion to Fuel (Solid, Liquid and Gas Fuel)

This chapter highlights the potential of utilising biomass as a renewable feedstock to produce biofuel and biochemical. Technologies for the conversion processes are discussed. In addition, case study on biomass conversion to H2 is presented. The effect of steam and newly developed bimetallic catalyst (Fe/Ni/Zeolite-β) on palm oil wastes including palm shell (PS) and palm oil fronds (POF) decomposition for H2 production was experimentally investigated in thermogravimetric analysis-gas chromatography (TGA-GC). Presence of steam increased the H2 content by 28% for both palm oil wastes. Maximum H2 content in the product gas generated was 64 mol% from PS for the catalytic steam gasification. On the other hand, for POF maximum H2 content of 50-mol% is observed in the product gas. Palm wastes can be a potential feedstock for H2 production utilising catalytic steam gasification process and can contribute to considerable renewable and clean energy for future.