Mechanisms of biomass pyrolysis studied by combining a fixed bed reactor with advanced gas analysis

•Fixed bed reactor is combined with various analysis for gas and tar.•Design of the fixed bed is suitable for the determination of mass balances.•Primary vapors are analysed on-line by soft photoionisation mass spectrometry.•Condensed vapors are quantified by heart-cutting GC*GC/MS-FID.•Mechanisms o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis 2016-01, Vol.117, p.334-346
Main Authors: Le Brech, Yann, Jia, Liangyuan, Cissé, Sadio, Mauviel, Guillain, Brosse, Nicolas, Dufour, Anthony
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomass
Chemical and Process Engineering
Chemical Sciences
Engineering Sciences
Mass spectrometry
or physical chemistry
Photoionisation
Pyrolysis
Theoretical and
Wood
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Summary:•Fixed bed reactor is combined with various analysis for gas and tar.•Design of the fixed bed is suitable for the determination of mass balances.•Primary vapors are analysed on-line by soft photoionisation mass spectrometry.•Condensed vapors are quantified by heart-cutting GC*GC/MS-FID.•Mechanisms of biomass pyrolysis are studied. Slow pyrolysis of different biomasses (miscanthus, douglas fir and oak) was conducted in a U-shape fixed bed reactor combined to (1) on-line analysis of the vapors (primary tar) by soft photoionisation mass spectrometry (single photoionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometer, SPI-TOFMS), (2) quantitative off-line analysis of condensed vapors by GC*GC/MS-FID and (3) permanent gas analysis. The U-shape fixed bed reactor allows controlling external mass transfers, temperature of the bed, quenching char at targeted temperatures and quantifying mass balances. The mass yields in solid, condensable products and gas are studied between 200°C and 500°C. The soft on-line photoionisation analysis leads to a more interpretable mass spectra with few fragment ions and gives the evolution of the main markers of volatiles produced in real-time as a function of the temperature. The chemical structure of the markers analyzed on-line by SPI-TOFMS is assigned by GC*GC/FID-MS analysis. The mechanisms of hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin pyrolysis in the complex network of biomass (including minerals catalytic effect) are discussed.
ISSN:0165-2370
1873-250X
DOI:10.1016/j.jaap.2015.10.013