Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects

The valorization and conversion of biomass into various value-added products and bioenergy play an important role in the realization of sustainable circular bioeconomy and net zero carbon emission goals. To that end, microwave technology has been perceived as a promising solution to process and mana...

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Main Authors: Foong, Shin Ying, Chan, Yi Herng, Chin, Bridgid, Lock, Serene Sow Mun, Yiin, Chung Loong, Cheah, Kin Wai, Loy, Adrian Chun Minh, Yek, Peter Nai Yuh, Chong, William Woei Fong, Lam, Su Shiung
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2023
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89801
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author Foong, Shin Ying
Chan, Yi Herng
Chin, Bridgid
Lock, Serene Sow Mun
Yiin, Chung Loong
Cheah, Kin Wai
Loy, Adrian Chun Minh
Yek, Peter Nai Yuh
Chong, William Woei Fong
Lam, Su Shiung
author_facet Foong, Shin Ying
Chan, Yi Herng
Chin, Bridgid
Lock, Serene Sow Mun
Yiin, Chung Loong
Cheah, Kin Wai
Loy, Adrian Chun Minh
Yek, Peter Nai Yuh
Chong, William Woei Fong
Lam, Su Shiung
author_sort Foong, Shin Ying
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The valorization and conversion of biomass into various value-added products and bioenergy play an important role in the realization of sustainable circular bioeconomy and net zero carbon emission goals. To that end, microwave technology has been perceived as a promising solution to process and manage oil palm waste due to its unique and efficient heating mechanism. This review presents an in-depth analysis focusing on microwave-assisted torrefaction, gasification, pyrolysis and advanced pyrolysis of various oil palm wastes. In particular, the products from these thermochemical conversion processes are energy-dense biochar (that could be used as solid fuel, adsorbents for contaminants removal and bio-fertilizer), phenolic-rich bio-oil, and H2-rich syngas. However, several challenges, including (1) the lack of detailed study on life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis, (2) limited insights on the specific foreknowledge of microwave interaction with the oil palm wastes for continuous operation, and (3) effects of tunable parameters and catalyst’s behavior/influence on the products’ selectivity and overall process’s efficiency, remain to be addressed in the context of large-scale biomass valorization via microwave technology.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:32:51Z
publishDate 2023
recordtype eprints
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-898012023-01-31T04:09:24Z Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects Foong, Shin Ying Chan, Yi Herng Chin, Bridgid Lock, Serene Sow Mun Yiin, Chung Loong Cheah, Kin Wai Loy, Adrian Chun Minh Yek, Peter Nai Yuh Chong, William Woei Fong Lam, Su Shiung The valorization and conversion of biomass into various value-added products and bioenergy play an important role in the realization of sustainable circular bioeconomy and net zero carbon emission goals. To that end, microwave technology has been perceived as a promising solution to process and manage oil palm waste due to its unique and efficient heating mechanism. This review presents an in-depth analysis focusing on microwave-assisted torrefaction, gasification, pyrolysis and advanced pyrolysis of various oil palm wastes. In particular, the products from these thermochemical conversion processes are energy-dense biochar (that could be used as solid fuel, adsorbents for contaminants removal and bio-fertilizer), phenolic-rich bio-oil, and H2-rich syngas. However, several challenges, including (1) the lack of detailed study on life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis, (2) limited insights on the specific foreknowledge of microwave interaction with the oil palm wastes for continuous operation, and (3) effects of tunable parameters and catalyst’s behavior/influence on the products’ selectivity and overall process’s efficiency, remain to be addressed in the context of large-scale biomass valorization via microwave technology. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89801 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128478 restricted
spellingShingle Foong, Shin Ying
Chan, Yi Herng
Chin, Bridgid
Lock, Serene Sow Mun
Yiin, Chung Loong
Cheah, Kin Wai
Loy, Adrian Chun Minh
Yek, Peter Nai Yuh
Chong, William Woei Fong
Lam, Su Shiung
Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
title Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
title_full Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
title_fullStr Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
title_full_unstemmed Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
title_short Microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: Recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
title_sort microwave processing of oil palm wastes for bioenergy production and circular economy: recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89801