Potential use of corn leaf waste for biofuel production in Jordan (physio-chemical study)

Highlights: • Detailed structural characterization of corn leaf waste is given. • The corn leaf waste was pyrolysed in 300–450 °C under nitrogen. • The biofuel contained only 8–18% aromatic protons. • Biofuel O content fell from 27% (• Important identified biofuel compounds: phenols, neophytadiene and acids. The increase in energy demand, especially in Jordan, has encouraged researchers to consider alternative sources of energy, such as biofuel production from agricultural waste. For this study, Jordanian corn leaf waste was characterized by ultimate and proximate analysis, TGA, FTIR and solid state ¹³C NMR. The waste showed high volatile matter, high atomic H/C ratio and high O content. The corn leaf waste contained 32.1 wt% cellulose, 18.1 wt% hemicelluloses and 11.9 wt% lignin. The FTIR and ¹³C NMR spectrums showed high concentrations of aliphatic and carbonyl carbon. The corn leaf waste was pyrolysed in a temperature range of 300–450 °C under a constant flow rate of nitrogen. Higher oil yield was obtained at pyrolysis temperature of 450 °C. The gas yield and higher heating value of the product increased as the temperature increased, whereas the water content decreased. The biofuels were rich in carbon and had a high oxygen content, which decreased as the temperature increased. The ¹H NMR confirmed the markedly aliphatic character of the biofuel. The GC-MS for the biofuel indicated the presence of hydrocarbon series, large amounts of oxygenated compounds and a few nitrogen and sulfur compounds. The simulated distillation showed a high proportion of diesel fraction (57–73%).