Mediterranean agri-food processing wastes pyrolysis after pre-treatment and recovery of precursor materials: A TGA-based kinetic modeling study

Valorization strategies of wastes from agri-food processes are intertwined with clean technological approaches and eco-industrial management. By-products from Mediterranean agri-food processes such as olive oil, wine and fruit create a considerable disposal problem for the agro-industry. Their characteristics in combination with Mediterranean climate enhance microbial development and can be source of health and safety concerns. After pre-treatment and recovery of valuable precursor materials (lignin, pulp), pyrolysis can be used for fuels, chemicals and carbon bio-based materials production. Since thermal degradation kinetic studies are a key step for the efficient design of thermo-chemical processes, in this study pyrolysis experiments were performed, using TGA for the estimation of the process kinetic parameters. The independent parallel reaction model validated against experimental results, showing a good agreement with experimental data, with deviation values ranging from 1.07 to 3.54%.