CNSL cashew shell oil

Abstract

Cashew nut shells are biomass wastes that can provide energy through different ways. They can either be submitted directly to any thermochemical conversion process to generate energy or used to generate a biocrude, known as cashew nut shell liquid and a solid cake. Cashew nut shell liquid is an important and powerful bio-oil whose calorific value is comparable to that of petroleum oils. This cashew nut shell oil is also known as an important chemicals precursor that can be extracted from the shells through different ways, yielding different oil and cake qualities. The cake resulting from this process has less energy than the raw shells but can be used as solid fuel for energy generation as well. In previous studies raw cashew nut shells were studied as energy sources. In the present study, however, the focus is the cashew nut shell cake that remains after physical extraction of the cashew nut shell oil. The study intends to compare the volatiles and char yields as well as the pyrolysis kinetics of this material and those of raw cashew nut shells. The main objective is to generate information that can be used for the efficient use of cashew nut shells for energy or chemicals production.

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