Formation of charcoal from biomass in a sealed reactor

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ie00004a027· OSTI ID:7025098

Mok, W S.L.; Antal, Jr, M J ^[1]; Szabo, P; Varhegyi, G; Zelei, B ^[2]

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1. Hawaii Natural Energy Inst., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
2. Research Lab. for Inorganic Chemistry, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest 1502 (Hungary)

In this paper, samples o cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and nine species of whole biomass are pyrolyzed in sealed reactors. Very high charcoal yields (e.g., 40% from cellulose, 48% from Eucalyptus gummifera) were obtained. Higher sample loading (sample mass per unit reactor volume) increased charcoal yield and the associated exothermic heat release and lowered the reaction onset temperature. These effects were induced by the vapor-phase concentrations of the volatile products, and not the system pressure. Addition of water catalyzed the reaction and increased the char yield. These observations suggest that charcoal formation is autocatalyzed by water, an initial pyrolysis product. When whole biomass was used as a feedstock, higher charcoal yields were obtained from species with high lignin and/or low hemicellulose content.

• OSTI ID: 7025098
• Journal Information: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research; (United States), Vol. 31:4, Issue 4; ISSN 0888-5885
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
CELLULOSE
PYROLYSIS
CHARCOAL
YIELDS
HEMICELLULOSE
LIGNIN
BIOMASS CONVERSION PLANTS
CATALYSIS
PHASE STUDIES
VAPORS
WATER
ADSORBENTS
CARBOHYDRATES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
FLUIDS
GASES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLYSACCHARIDES
SACCHARIDES
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
090900* - Biomass Fuels- Processing- (1990-)