Computer-aided Simulation of the Hydrogen Production Process from Palm Rachis in María La Baja
In the world, 20 million palm rachis are produced annually; this is a fibrous residue resulting from the use of the palm fruit. In Colombia, approximately 400,000 tons of empty fruit bunches (palm rachis) are generated each year, so the expansion of this crop has generated concerns due to the defore...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Chemical Engineering Transactions |
| Online Access: | https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15263 |
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| Summary: | In the world, 20 million palm rachis are produced annually; this is a fibrous residue resulting from the use of the palm fruit. In Colombia, approximately 400,000 tons of empty fruit bunches (palm rachis) are generated each year, so the expansion of this crop has generated concerns due to the deforestation of land used for palm plantations. In addition, palm oil production generates a large amount of waste, such as the rachis, which is often not adequately utilized, contributing to waste management problems and greenhouse gas emissions; however, the rachis can be used for the generation of value-added products or energy, because it is a biomass rich in lignocellulosic material and fiber. According to the above, it is proposed to use the palm rachis cultivated in María la Baja, located in the department of Bolívar, to obtain hydrogen, to stop burning this biomass and obtain a product that can be used mainly as fuel or energy. In this study, the modeling and simulation of the hydrogen synthesis process from palm rachis produced in María la Baja, Bolívar, were conducted using Aspen Plus. According to the results, the thermodynamic model used allows predicting the behavior of the process in an efficient way, since the properties of the validated substances fit the data reported in the literature. The process simulation helped to evaluate the technical feasibility of the assembly of a hydrogen production plant from rachis, allowing decision making for the improvement of the process not only at a technical level, but also at an economic, energetic and environmental level, optimizing the operative conditions such as temperature and pressure, minimizing the production of undesired substances and maximizing the synthesis of the product of interest. According to the simulation, hydrogen with properties exceeding 95% accuracy is obtained, which indicates that it is possible to produce this product through indirect gasification of palm residues at a temperature of 900 °C. This process indicates that it is possible to obtain 5,056 kg/h of hydrogen from 85,557 kg/h of empty fruit bunches (EFB). |
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| ISSN: | 2283-9216 |