Coconut Shell Waste Pyrolysis: Unraveling Thermal Decomposition Mechanisms and Product Evolution

This paper explores the feasibility of pyrolysis for treating coconut shell (CS), a typical biomass waste, by investigating its thermal decomposition behaviors, char characteristics, and pyrolysis product distribution via TG, fixed‐bed reactor, and Py‐GC/MS. TG analysis identifies three distinct pyrolysis stages: dehydration, main pyrolysis, and carbonization. Calculations using the Friedman (FR), Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) methods reveal variations in apparent activation energies, with the FR method yielding the highest range (136.45–222.72 kJ/mol)—a result reflecting the complexity of CS's multi‐component decomposition. As conversion ( α ) increases, the pre‐exponential factor ( A ) rises, Gibbs free energy (Δ G ) decreases slightly, and entropy (Δ S ) increases, indicating enhanced reaction spontaneity, and kinetic activity.​ Char characterization via ultimate analysis, FTIR, XRD, and SEM highlights its structural properties, while Py‐GC/MS analysis at 300–600 °C shows phenols, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, and ketones as primary products. Notably, 500 °C emerges as an optimal temperature, maximizing ketones and phenols (valuable for chemical synthesis) while minimizing aldehydes. These findings provide critical guidance for optimizing CS pyrolysis conditions and advancing its high‐value sustainable utilization.