Utilization of Indonesian sugarcane bagasse into bio asphalt through pyrolysis process using zeolite-based catalyst

The availability of biomass in the form of sugar-cane bagasse in Indonesia has the potential to be processed into more valuable products. The presence of lignin and cellulose causes the bagasse to be processed by pyrolysis into a liquid product (bio-oil) and then through the evaporation process produces a material with characteristics like asphalt which is a residue from the petroleum refining process. In this study, the pyrolysis process was carried out catalytically using a natural zeolite catalyst from Bayah, West Java. This study aimed was to analyze the effect of catalyst percentage on bagasse raw materials and the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the yield of bio-oil products and the characteristics of bio-asphalt. The catalytic pyrolysis process was carried out in fixed bed reactors at temperatures of 400, 450, 500, and 550 °C, with a ratio of catalyst to raw materials of 0, 3, 6 and 9% of 100 g of bagasse. The results of the study concluded that the percentage of catalyst and reaction temperature affect the bio-oil yield and bio-asphalt characteristics. The best pyrolysis results were obtained at a catalyst percentage of 6% and a temperature of 500 °C which gave the highest bio-oil yield of 29.54% and bio-asphalt yield of 9.81%. From the results of testing the penetration point and flash point, the bio-asphalt product complies with the standard penetration asphalt type 60/70.