Ahmad Yusril Aminullah, Yahya Zakaria, Sukarni Sukarni, Avita Ayu Permanasari, Samsudin Anis, Anwar Johari
Power generation utilizing biomass thermal conversion has become one of the clean energy solutions. Arthrospira platensis (AP) microalgae belongs to 3rd-gen biomass. AP has high protein and relatively low ash content compared to other microalgae. On the other hand, AC has a high energy density and also provides a catalytic effect due to its high surface area. Inorganic material is one of the main factors in determining the potential of thermal conversion feedstock. Reactor fouling is caused by inorganic deposits, resulting in a decrease in heat transfer efficiency. Inorganic elements (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) also interact with biomasses' volatile matter, reducing thermal conversion to final product quality, such as pyrolysis oil. This study aimed to analyze inorganic elements change and its possible interaction with the thermal conversion product of AP and AC mixture at a mass ratio of 10:1 (10AP:1AC) compared to parent material using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. The result indicated that AP contained chlorine and potassium as major inorganic elements of 54.8 and 19.6 (wt.%), respectively. AC inorganic elements are dominated by calcium and iron at 33.6 and 19.8 (wt.%) in that order. Blending AP and AC does not drastically increase total inorganic elements with maximum change in iron with 0.92%, which is the desired output where there is feedstock quality improvement without significant inorganic element increase. © 2024 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.
Center for Renewable Fuels Research (CRFR), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang No 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Center of Advanced Materials for Renewable Energy (CAMRY), Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang No 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Agro Research Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang, 50229, Indonesia; Centre of Hydrogen Energy, Institute of Future Energy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
