No abstract

SynopsisBiomass materials, including lignin, redwood, corn cob, Calotropis Procera, Leucaena wood, Kraft paper, newsprint, cow manure, D-glucose, and D-cellobiose, were pyrolyzed in vacuum by the visible radiant flux emitted from a Xenon flashtube. The flux density exceeded 8 kW/cm2 during the 1 ms flash. Sirup yields were low (avg 25%), while the gas yield was high (avg 32%). The gaseous products were composed primarily of CO and COz. The high relative yields of CO establish the existence of a high temperature fragmentation pathway active during the flash pyrolysis of all biomass materials.