Volatile-char interactions during biomass pyrolysis: Insight into the activity of chars derived from three major components

Char activity is a critical factor for the interactions between char and volatile, which are recognized to determine the final product distribution from biomass pyrolysis. To clarify the effect of biomass composition on char activity, the interactions between (benzyloxy)benzene as a volatile model compound and char samples obtained from cellulose, xylan, and lignin were studied. The (benzyloxy)benzene conversion increased from 0.64 % for no char to 6.31 %, 6.98 % and 53.5 % for lignin char, cellulose char, and xylan char, respectively, which were mainly derived from the contribution of surface C-O groups and surface defects in the carbon structure. Especially, surface C(sp2)-O groups and C(sp3)-O groups on char respectively favored the breakage of C(sp3)- O and C(sp2)-O bonds in (benzyloxy)benzene. Despite the low activity, lignin char showed high selectivity to monomeric products due to the high content of surface C--O groups, which were considered to induce the production of hydrogen radicals to stabilize the resulting intermediates. The findings of this study prove that the volatile-char interaction could be adjusted facilely by changing the hemicellulose content during feedstock pretreatments.

Automated summary

The char activity plays a vital role in the interactions between char and volatile compounds during biomass pyrolysis. The study found that different char samples obtained from cellulose, xylan, and lignin showed varying levels of activity in converting (benzyloxy)benzene, with lignin char exhibiting the highest conversion rate due to the presence of surface C-O groups and defects in the carbon structure. Overall, the findings suggest that adjusting the hemicellulose content in feedstock pretreatments can impact the volatile-char interaction.