Catalytic Co-Pyrolysis of Oil Palm Frond and Plastic Waste into Liquid Fuel using Ni-CaO Catalyst

The decline in fossil fuel sources is directly linked to the increasing global energy demand, highlighting the urgent need for renewable energy sources. One highly efficient and eco-friendly alternative is bio-oil from co-pyrolysis, a process that effectively breaks down biomass with a high hydrogen index efficiency ratio (H/C). This research comprehensively examines the factors influencing bio-oil production, including the pretreatment of palm fronds with formic acid, the ratio of plastic to palm frond, and the percentage of Ni-CaO catalysts. The study reveals that pretreating the biomass with formic acid and adding low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic increase bio-oil yield, while the addition of Ni-CaO catalyst has the opposite effect. These variations notably impact the enhancement of bio-oil quality, as evidenced by calorific value, acid number, density, and bio-oil constituent compounds. Specifically, Bio-oil obtained from OPF prepared with 70% formic acid, 50:50 OPF to LDPE ratio and 15% Ni-CaO catalyst addition yielded 49.6% with an acid number of 8.57 mgKOH/g, density of 0.98 g/mL and heating value of 31.732 MJ/Kg.