The effects of temperature, residence time and particle size on a charcoal produced from coconut shell

Coconut shell charcoal is an important product obtained from coconut shells, which are widely used as domestic and industrial fuel. Wastes of coconut residues (shells, husks and coir) from processing of coconut milk and oil industries are widely generated everywhere all over the world. They have the potential of use as a fuel in renewable energy for different applications. In this study, the production of charcoal from coconut shell through the process of pyrolysis was conducted to determine the influence of particle size, temperature and residence time on the charcoal weight loss. Pyrolysis is a thermochemical conversion method which converts biomass into more valuable products in form of solid (charcoal, bio-char and activated carbon), liquid (oil) and gas in the absence of oxygen. The process was carried out under various process conditions of temperature (300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C), residence time (15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes), and particle size (5.0 mm and 25.0 mm). It was found that for both the temperature and the residence time, the weight loss from the coconut shell increase linearly with increase in temperature and residence time. The particle size has influence in percentage weight loss. The resulting charcoal obtained can be utilized as an alternative energy resource for different applications.