Utilization of biomass as fuel source for direct carbon fuel cell

In this research, the feasibility of palm mesocarp and palm shell as DCFC fuels were examined. However, biomass in its raw state does not possess suitable chemical and physical properties for fueling DCFC. For that purpose, heat treatment such as pyrolysis is required for physicochemical properties modifications. In this study, palm mesocarp and palm shell biomasses were pyrolyzed at temperature range of 400-800oC and 400-1000oC, respectively, coupled with residence time of 2 hours and heating rate of 10oC/min in order to upgrade the physicochemical properties of biomass. Furthermore, characterization using proximate, ultimate, gas adsorption and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses are performed on samples along with carbon black – a common fuel applied in DCFC. Lastly, all the biochar samples were tested in SO-DCFC, with the operating temperature of 800oC, under the N2 and synthetic air atmosphere at anode and cathode compartments, respectively. Using linear sweep voltammetry, it was found that palm mesocarp pyrolyzed at 600oC yields the highest electrochemical performance in DCFC - 1830 uW/cm2, as compared to all other samples, including those of palm shell.