Discerning the value-addition process of de-oiled cashew nut shell

Abstract

Cashew cultivation leads to the generation of large amounts of nut shells. In this study, the effective utilization of the nut shells for the production of value-added chemicals and fuels through pyrolysis process was investigated. The experiments were carried out in a laboratory scale fixed bed reactor with a capacity of 250 g. Cashew nuts hells (CNS) were pyrolyzed at 500 °C and 30 min residence time. The solid, liquid and gaseous fractions were quantified and characterized for its physio-chemical and thermal properties. Results indicated that, all the products obtained from pyrolysis are suitable for fuel purposes which is affirmed through their energy content. The yield of pyro-char and pyro-oil was observed as 28.36 and 41.8% respectively, with an energy value of 28.75 and 37.82 MJ/kg, respectively.