Characterization of energy carriers obtained from the pyrolysis of white ash, switchgrass and corn stover — Biochar, syngas and bio-oil

Abstract

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oThe pyrolysis of three representative sources of biomass, namely, white ash, switchgrass and corn stover were investigated using a fixed-bed reactor to observe and compare the characterizations of three energy carriers, biochar, syngas and bio-oil. The characteristics of biochar were determined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).The results showed that the carbon content of biochar increased with the increase of pyrolysis temperature. More than 52 wt.% of the carbon was captured in the biochar. The infrared spectra of char samples illustrated that various bands in the spectra were identified, corresponding to stretches -NH-, aliphatic stretches -CH-, stretches conjugate -C_C-, -CH 3 and stretches -C\ \O-. The surface morphology of biomass sample changed after pyrolysis and carbon fiber can be formed at the temperature of 500°C. The content of combustible gas CH 4 , H 2 and CO was changed from 50% to 70%. The GC-MS analysis of bio-oil showed that most of the chemical compounds detected were phenolic ones. This study provides a useful reference for energy carriers from the pyrolysis of biomass.

Characterization of biochars produced from pyrolysis of pelletized agricultural residues

“…The variation in CO 2 , CO, CH 4 and H 2 during the test runs (Fig. 8) and overall gaseous production (Table 5) agrees with the data given by other authors [25]. In Fig 8 it can be seen that the release of water takes place throughout the process, caused initially by evaporation of moisture contained in pellets, and subsequently by water produced by pyrolytic reactions in combination with other gases.…”

Comparison of the Physicochemical Characteristics of Bio-char Pyrolyzed from Moso Bamboo and Rice Husk with Different Pyrolysis Temperatures

“…Finally, when the temperature reached 700 °C and 800 °C, the FTIR curves were almost flat. This finding was also supported by other researchers using pinewood (Luo et al 2015), white ash (Chen et al 2016d), and walnut . In Fig.…”

“…This conclusion was also confirmed by Chen et al (2016d). Figure 5 shows results of the XRD analysis of the BC and RHC from different pyrolysis temperatures.…”

Characteristics and Potential Values of Bio-Products Derived from Switchgrass Grown in a Saline Soil Using a Fixed-Bed Slow Pyrolysis System

“…Bio-oil is composed of various condensable organic compounds, such as furfurals, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other minor compounds (Imam and Capareda 2012;Chen et al 2016). The carbon content decreased with an increasing pyrolysis temperature, whereas the O and N contents increased, and the H content changed little with the increase of pyrolysis temperature.…”