A study of composition and pyrolysis behavior of biomass-based materials for NOx reduction

Conference · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1999

OSTI ID:20082281

Bhalla, S; Pisupati, S V

Pyrolysis products of biomass (bio-oils) have been shown to cause NO reduction when used as reburn fuel. A better understanding of composition of biomass will help in selection of feedstock that helps to enhance NO reduction potential of biomass-based materials. In the present work thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and {sup 13}C-CP/MAS-NMR techniques were used to study the composition of different biomass-based materials. Samples are then flash pyrolyzed in a flow reactor to correlate the composition with the yield of volatiles, which are believed to cause reduction of NO through homogeneous gas phase reactions. The TGA weight loss curves of oils in inert atmosphere showed two distinct peaks between 160--400 C and 400--600 C, corresponding to the decomposition of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin structures. The third distinct peak between 600--900 C corresponds to secondary thermal decomposition of char. The NMR spectra of the samples indicated that aryl-alkyl ether linkages of the lignin structure were extensively cleaved and carbonyl-containing species were increased. Study also showed that lower content of lignin, and higher amounts of cellulose and hemicellulose produced more volatile compounds upon pyrolysis.

• Research Organization: The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (US)
• DOE Contract Number: FC22-92PC92162
• OSTI ID: 20082281
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
CELLULOSE
HEMICELLULOSE
LIGNIN
NITRIC OXIDE
PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS
REDUCTION
STAGED COMBUSTION
VOLATILE MATTER