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Pyrolysis is a promising approach that is being investigated to convert lignin into higher value products including biofuels and phenolic chemicals. In this study, fast pyrolysis of four types of lignin, including milled Amur linden wood lignin (MWL), enzymatic hydrolysis corn stover lignin (EHL), wheat straw alkali lignin (AL) and wheat straw sulfonate lignin (SL), were performed using pyrolysis gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the four lignins exhibited widely different thermolysis behaviors. The four lignins had similar functional groups according to the FTIR analysis. Syringyl, guaiacyl and p-hydroxyphenylpropane structural units were broken down during pyrolysis. Fast pyrolysis product distributions from the four lignins depended strongly on the lignin origin and isolation process. Phenols were the most abundant pyrolysis products from MWL, EHL and AL. However, SL produced a large number of furan compounds and sulfur compounds originating from kraft pulping. The effects of pyrolysis temperature and time on the product distributions from corn stover EHL were also studied. At 350 °C, EHL pyrolysis mainly produced acids and alcohols, while phenols became the main products at

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Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was employed to investigate the primary pyrolysis product distribution of the pyrolysis of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) and the mutual effects of poplar wood (PW) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The PW, HDPE, and WPCs were pyrolysed at 475, 550, and 625 °C. The effect of temperature on the WPC pyrolysis products was examined. The comparison of the degradation composition results for HDPE, PW, and WPCs indicated that thermal degradation of WPCs comprised individual poplar wood and HDPE pyrolytic decompositions, and the pyrolytic products of PW and HDPE did not react with each other. The experimental results demonstrate that the pyrolytic product distribution of HDPE changed apparently in the presence of PW during pyrolysis. The PW decomposed at lower temperature during pyrolysis provided radicals, enhancing the scission of polymer chains to obtain more light paraffins. Further, the proposed pathway for the evolution of the main volatile organic products was probed. This study provides insights into the fundamental mechanisms of WPC pyrolysis and a basis for developing more descriptive models of WPC pyrolysis.