Résumé
This work investigated the torrefaction process for waste-to-energy (WTE) ofCaryocar brasiliense(pequi) seed. Torrefaction (mild pyrolysis) is a pretreatment process (220–300 °C) that improves raw biomass's chemical and physical properties. This investigation aims to understand the thermal degradation kinetics through the torrefaction of pequi seeds with (PS) and without extractives (PSWE) residues. The torrefactionwas conducted in a micro-TGA at220–260 °C; 7° C.min–1 heating rate; and 60 min of holding time) was performed for PS and PSWE, characterizing their thermal behavior and providing data for the kinetic modeling. The higher extractive content of 40.73%resulted in a higher mass loss for PS, with solid yields of 78.30, 75.48 and 66.47%, while PSWE presented solid yields of 86.26, 77.79, and 66.71% considering 220, 240, and 260 °C treatments, respectively. The two-step reaction kinetics was applied and reported accurate results showing a suitable tool to predict the torrefaction kinetic (R2 > 0.99 for all predicted curves) of fruit seed with and without extractives. The results indicate that Light and Mild torrefaction are more influenced by extractive content on the raw biomass, with decomposition rate and final solid yield affected. Meanwhile, higher torrefaction severities showed that the decomposition rate is still superior for feedstock with extractives (PS), but the final solid yield is no more affected.