Pyrolysis, slow composition, product

Our methods and experiments (UW) previously addressed composition effects in pyrolysis of RDF (Lai, et al 1993) and wood (Krieger-Brockett, et al 1997). In those papers and this one, even minor components are shown to alter pyrolysis slate when appropriate statistical methods are used. This paper briefly summarizes our work on pyrolysis product slates resulting from large- or macro-particle devolatilization (in which heat transfer is a slow process) of native biomass compositions in under-utilized species. The method has general applicability and owing to the limited scope of this article, the reader is referred to Somasundaram (1990), Lai (1991) and Rodriguez (1996) for details and extensive literature reviews with only a few relevant articles mentioned here,... 

In this context, the present work aims at examining comparatively (I) chemical compositions, heating values and surface properties of char samples obtained from slow pyrolysis of different lignocellulosic wastes, in relation to their potential as biofuel and/or for fiuther processing to produce activated carbons (2) pyrolysis kinetics of the selected wastes, necessary for the design of the reactors for char production. 

The types of biomass, especially ash content, heating rates, and hot vapor residence times, have a major effect on the product composition (Jahirul et al., 2012). The typical product composition for fast pyrolysis of clean dry wood is 75 wt.% liquid, 12 wt.% char (usually consumed in the process for heat), and 13 wt.% gas, compared to slow pyrolysis which is 30 wt.% liquid, 35 wt.% char, and 35 wt.% gas (Bridgwater, 2012a,b). 

---