Parametric Optimization of the Co-Pyrolysis of Cocos Nucifera Coir and Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles

This research works focuses on the co-pyrolysis of coconut coir fiber combined with PET in order to increase its heating value, in addition to solid mass reduction for prolonged shell life and storage issues. Co-pyrolysis is a process of efficiently producing high-quality biofuel from two or more materials. Parameters combinations were identified using the Taguchi optimization methodology model in MINITAB19. Nine samples with three replications were evaluated. Results revealed that changing the temperature, duration, and feedstock blends show a significant effect on solid mass yield and heating value. The biochar with 75:25 (coconut coir fiber: PET) shows that duration and temperature directly affect the solid yield. For biochar, with 25:75 (coconut coir fiber: PET), pyrolysis duration contributed largely to the output. The highest solid mass reduction with an average of 55% solid yield was obtained. Despite a high solid mass reduction, the heating value measured is only 13 MJ/kg. Feedstock blend with PET to coconut coir ratios of 75:25, 25:75, and 50:50 resulted to an average solid yield of 70%, 65%, and 83% respectively. In terms of heating value, for all three replications, the biochar sample subjected to 200°C, 30 minutes, and PET to coconut coir ratio of 75:25, with an average solid yield of 67%, had the highest value with 20.94 MJ/kg, 24.42 MJ/kg, and 23.55 MJ/kg for Trial A, B, and C, respectively. The result shows that the incorporation of PET effectively increases the heating value of the coconut coir fiber from 10 MJ/kg to 24.42 MJ/kg.