Characterization of Bio-oil and Biochar Produced from Co-pyrolysis of Teak Wood Sawdust and Waste Plastic Bottles Using Ablative Pyrolyzer

The world is gradually moving into renewable energy due to the non-renewability of crude oil. For a sustainable environment and energy generation, co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes in the environment can be carried out to generate bio-oil and biochar. This study was done to characterize bio-oil and biochar obtained from plastic bottles and sawdust through a fast pyrolysis process using an ablative pyrolyzer. Five different sawdust-plastic compositions (100% sawdust 0% plastic (sample A), 70% sawdust 30% plastic (sample B), 50% sawdust 50% plastic (sample C), 30% sawdust 70% plastic (sample D), and 0% sawdust 100% plastic (sample E)) were charged into the pyrolyzer to obtain bio-oil and biochar. The bio-oil and biochar were characterized using standard methods and equipment. The values for density, pour point, cloud point, viscosity, and pH range from 0.92 to 1.02 g/cm³, 0.6–1.8 \({}^oC\) , 0.8–2.0 \({}^oC\) , 3.5–7.8 mPa.s, and 3.91–5.26, respectively. Hence, the bio-oil is capable of being useful for energy utilization. For the biochar, the microstructure revealed fibrous rigid structures with pores. The energy dispersive spectroscopy showed that carbon was the main element present, which is the reason for the blackness of the product. Major and minor elements such as K, Mg, Fe, Na, Zn, Cu, Cl, Al, and Ni were observed through the X-ray diffractometer analysis done on the biochar samples. Hence, biochar can be useful for soil improvement and some other applications.