Abstract:

The culture of castor bean use is growing in Latin America. After extracting the oil, the biomass waste is considered for energy based on its thermal energy potential of about 18 kJ*g-1. When using biomass, it is important for the product to be dry, both for its conservation and efficient use. The castor bean is separated into its three basic parts (outer shell, inner shell and seed), before processing the seed to obtain oil. This study researches the differences between these three parts, associated to basic physicochemical parameters to use them as biomass. The drying curves suggest that each part of the castor been has a different xC, which conditions the variables associated with the fluxional area and the kinetic constant of the superficial drying region on islands. The energy required for drying depends mainly on the maximum absorbable humidity of the sample, which is 60% (wet basis moisture content), for the outer shell and the seed, but only 33% for the inner shell. The useful drying energy dependents on the absorbable moisture, so it has a similar dependence with values of the order of 1,5 to 1,3 MJ*kg-1 for the outer shell and the seed, but only 0,75 MJ*kg-1 for the internal shell. The evaluation made by thermogravimetry in nitrogen, shows a concentrated main decomposition for all the samples in areas of the order of 150 to 400 ºC, with% of variation of mass from 30 to 35%.