Effect of Bentonite on the Combustion Behavior of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates the oxidative thermal decomposition (combustion) behaviour of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) with and without a bentonite additive, characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA). Samples were heated from 30 to 1000 °C at 10 °C min⁻¹ under a flowing air atmosphere (0.5 L min⁻¹). Under air, OPEFB burned in three stages: moisture release (<150 °C), combustion of volatile matter, and combustion of the residual char, leaving an inorganic ash residue. For raw OPEFB, the moisture loss was about 5.1%, the ignition temperature (tangent method) was about 230 °C, the volatile- and char-combustion DTG peaks occurred at approximately 251 and 400 °C, and the ash residue was 12.9%. Adding bentonite (OPEFB:bentonite = 1:0.1) raised the ignition temperature to about 250 °C, shifted the volatile-combustion peak to about 276 °C, and increased the ash residue to about 19.5%. These effects are interpreted physically: the inert aluminosilicate acts as a thermal ballast and an oxygen-transport barrier that delays ignition and volatile combustion, while its thermally stable framework dominates the residual ash. Because only a single heating rate was used, no isoconversional kinetic parameters were derived. The results provide baseline combustion-characterization data supporting the use of OPEFB as a solid fuel.
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225268929
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