This study deals with fast pyrolysis of sawdust wood waste (SWW) at the range of temperature 300–700 °C in a stainless steel tubular reactor. The aim was to experimentally investigate how the temperature, the particle size, the nitrogen flow rate (N2) and the heating rate affect bio-oil, bio-char and gaseous products. These parameters were varied in the ranges of 5–20 °C/min, below 0.1–1.5 mm and 20–200 mL min−1, respectively. It was concluded that both the temperature and heating rate have a significant effect on both yield of bio-oil and bio-char resulting from pyrolysis of SWW. The liquid products obtained at various pyrolysis temperatures were subjected into column chromatography after removal of asphaltenes (hexane insoluble). Obtained bio-oils (maltenes or hexane soluble) were classified as aliphatic, aromatic and polar sub-fractions. The maximum of bio-oil yield of 39.5 wt% was obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C, particle size between 0.5 and 1 mm, nitrogen flow rate (N2) of 100 mL min−1 and heating rate of 5 °C/min. Liquid product (bio-oil) obtained under the most suitable and optimal condition was characterized by elemental analysis, Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR and 13C NMR), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The analysis of liquid showed that bio-oil from SWW could be a potential source of renewable fuel production and value added chemical. The yield of char generally decreases with increasing the temperature, the char yield passes from 54.61 to 29.47 wt% at the heating rate of 5 °C/min and from 50.01 to 24.5 wt% at the heating rate of 20 °C/min at the same range of temperature (300–700 °C). Solid products (bio-char) obtained in the presence of nitrogen (N2) contain a very important percentage of carbon and high heating values (HHVs).

An innovative hybrid organic–inorganic material composed of alginate–brushite xerogel beads was successfully applied for the catalysis of the Knoevenagel condensation. The catalyst was derived from phosphated alginate xerogel microspheres formed from the ionotropic gelling effect of phosphated alginate. To this end, alginate was phosphated by the addition of diammonium hydrogen phosphate in a 1% w/w alginate gel. The phosphated alginate was subsequently precipitated by chelation of Ca 2+ cations, generating a phosphated alginate hydrogel microsphere, which was washed and dried, forming hybrid organic–inorganic xerogel beads as a crystalline phosphate-rich mineral fraction covered by alginate. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the crystalline inorganic matrix of the material was composed predominantly of brushite. SEM analysis revealed plate-like, ribbon-like, or needle-like morphologies in the hybrid alginate–brushite beads. The hybrid material was tested as a catalyst for Knoevenagel condensation, which was performed ″on-water″ under mild conditions with aromatic aldehydes and activated methylene compounds, giving high yields (up to 97%). The reaction rate and product yield increased together with the reaction temperature for all reagents. The recyclable solid catalyst was effective for three runs, revealing the potential of the innovative hybrid catalyst as an eco-friendly heterogeneous catalyst.