ISSN: 0256-1115 (print version) ISSN: 1975-7220 (electronic version)
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In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publication history
Received October 24, 2025
Revised January 22, 2026
Accepted February 9, 2026
Available online June 26, 2026
articles This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Most Cited

Pyrolysis of Soybean Residue for Bioenergy Valorization: Kinetic Parameters and Environmental Benefits

Korea Institute of Energy Research 1Kyungpook National University 2School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul 3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanbat National University
dylee82@hanbat.ac.kr, namhs219@knu.ac.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, June 2026, 43(8), 2219-2231(13)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-026-00672-9

Abstract

For the thermochemical valorization of okara (soybean residue), pyrolysis fixed-bed experiments and its kinetic analysis 

were conducted. Okara exhibited a major mass loss between 200 and 500 °C with observed derivative thermogravimetry 

curves corresponding to hemicellulose and cellulose, which was also confirmed by real time FTIR. From the fixed-bed 

pyrolysis experiments, the resulting pyrolysis oil, gas and char achieved average yields of 42±1.4%, 32±2.6%, and 

26±1.7%, respectively. The components of pyrolysis oil are primarily derived from hemicellulose and cellulose, with 

acids>furans>ketones>alcohols being the most abundant in that order. The most abundant compounds among them were 

acetic acid and furfuryl alcohol, with maximums of 38.59% and 7.86%, respectively. In the kinetic analysis, okara showed 

high R2

 values of 0.15−0.65 for the conversion rate, corresponding to the pyrolysis of hemicellulose and cellulose. The 

activation energy (Eα) values were found to be in the ranges of 136−503 kJ/mol. The pre-exponential factor (A) values 

were mostly A≥1E+09, indicating a ‘loose’ complex mechanism. The master plot showed that okara pyrolysis is similar 

to the power law mechanism of the nucleation model.

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