Cellulose high vacuum pyrolysis

Koll and Metzger (1978) report on the use of supercritical acetone as the reaction medium for the thermal degradation of cellulose and chitin. Since the pyrolysis of these polysaccharides occurs at such high temperatures, it is necessary to remove the primary products from the reaction zone as soon as they are formed to avoid degradation of the products into coke. The high operating temperature also adversely affects both yield and product distribution. It is possible to reduce the carbon formation by carrying out the pyrolysis under vacuum but the reaction rate is also reduced because of the poor heat transfer to the reactants. 

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