Hydrogen-rich fuel gas from rice straw via microwave-induced pyrolysis

This study aimed to research the productivity of H-2-rich fuel gas from rice straw using the microwave-induced pyrolysis. The formation constituents of gas product and the mechanism of its production were also discussed. The primary components of gas product were H-2, CO2, CO, and CH4, with average percentages of 50.67, 22.56, 16.09, and 7.42 vol.%, respectively. According to the TA-MS analysis, it was suggested that focused heating by microwaves made the microwave-induced pyrolysis different from the traditional pyrolysis. A chemical equation could be nearly balanced to illustrate the gas composition generated from rice straw. From the viewpoint of energy consumption, close to 60% of the input energy could be derived and utilized as bioenergy. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.