Numerical Simulation of Lignocellulosic Biomass Ozonolysis in a Fixed - Bed Reactor

Oil palm waste (OPW) is known as one of the abundant agricultural wastes, which has high lignocellulose content. Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the renewable sources of energy stored in green plants and other organic matter. This research aims to enhance bioenergy production by pre-treating the lignocellulosic biomass particularly the OPW with zero waste in a sustainable process. This paper proposes ozone pre-treatment as a substantial potential and promising pre-treatment method, for renewable energy production in Malaysia. This study highlights the utilization of COMSOL finite element software in developing a coupled numerical model to simulate the velocity of ozone and to determine the concentration profile of lignin in the reactor. The flow behaviours of ozone in the free and porous-bed reactor regions were investigated. The flow behaviour of ozone during ozonolysis process depended on the permeability and porosity of biomass feedstock. The results from this study could be extended to include biomass from other sources such as wood waste. Thus, the findings from this research will have potentials in advancing technology innovation for enhancing resource sustainability by producing biofuels.

Keywords: Ozonolysis, COMSOL, Flow, Lignocellulosic biomass, Transport, Numerical simulation