A Novel Vacuum Assisted Microwave Reactor for the Production of Biofuel from Biowaste

Biofuel is a primary byproduct obtained from the biomass pyrolysis process, and it is known to offer both bioenergy and significant environmental benefits. Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen are the primary components of biofuel. The produced byproduct must have the highest energy yield. The conventional techniques are not efficient for extracting or converting the carbon (20–40 wt.%) from the biowaste. However, hybrid techniques are still in the early stages of development or are only available in the laboratory. Moreover, such conventional and hybrid pyrolysers are not capable of processing the different biowastes, thus customization is needed. In this project proposal, we present a novel vacuum-assisted microwave pyrolyser and its processes to process the variety of biomass that typically comes from agricultural waste. This reactor will be capable of producing the valuable products in one go in the form of biochar, bio-oil, and syngas, which will fulfil the demand of the MSMEs’ and be scaled up for the large industrial plants. In addition, with the increasing demand for energy and limited fossil fuels, the conversion of biowaste to biofuels is important. The further utilisation of produced biofuels is not only limited to the production of energy but is also used for soil treatments, water treatment, and fuel cells, owing to their rich carbon content.