In-Depth Investigation of Biomass Pyrolysis Based on Three Major Components:  Hemicellulose, Cellulose and Lignin

Abstract

To better understand biomass pyrolysis, the different roles of the three components (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin) in pyrolysis are investigated in depth using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The pyrolysis characteristics of the three components are first analyzed, and the process of biomass pyrolysis is divided into four ranges according to the temperatures specified by individual components. Second, synthesized biomass samples containing two or three of the biomass components are developed on the basis of a simplex-lattice approach. The pyrolysis of the synthesized samples indicates negligible interaction among the three components and a linear relationship occurring between the weight loss and proportion of hemicellulose (or cellulose) and residues at the specified temperature ranges. Finally, two sets of multiple linear-regression equations are established for predicting the component proportions in a biomass and the weight loss of a biomass during pyrolysis in TGA, respectively. The results of the calculations for the synthesized samples are consistent with the experimental measurements. Furthermore, to validate the computation approach, TGA experimental analysis of the three components of palm oil wastes, a local representative biomass sample, is conducted.

Mechanical properties, morphology and thermal degradation of a biocomposite of polypropylene and curaua fibers: coupling agent effect.

“…This result shows the synergistic advantages of mixing the vegetal fibers with the PP polymeric matrix for tertiary recycling, because of its improved transformation of matter into energy during combustion. Regarding the char formation, mixtures of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin were studied by thermogravimetric analysis and no interaction between their degradation processes was observed [18] . However, there are differences when comparing the results obtained with mixtures and the results from natural fibers; there is a visible interaction between second process of weight loss of curaua fiber, generally attributed to the lignin process of thermal weight loss [19,20] , probably because of that two reasons: the higher hindrance of oxygen access to the fibers in the composite bulk, in comparison to the conditions for curaua fibers analyzed alone, and the stabilization effect caused by the lignin present in the fibers [21,22] .…”

Pyrolysis/gasification of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin for hydrogen production in the presence of various nickel-based catalysts

“…It was concluded that pyrolysis of biomass was significantly dependent on the main components of cellulose, heicellulose and lignin. For example, hemicellulose and lignin started to decompose at lower temperatures compared with cellulose during TGA analysis; however, lignin was found to be decomposed over the whole investigated temperature (from ambient to 900 °C) and produced the highest residue after the TGA experiment [10,11]. In addition, lignin was reported to be more strongly affected by steam partial pressure than that of cellulose and hemicelluloses (xylan), when these three biomass components were investigated using TGA [16].…”

“…Numerous of studies have been carried out on the pyrolysis of cellulose, heicellulose and lignin using thermogravimetric analysis (TG) [11][12][13], pyroprobe reactor [14] and supercritical reactor [15]. It was concluded that pyrolysis of biomass was significantly dependent on the main components of cellulose, heicellulose and lignin.…”

Cellulose, xylan and lignin interactions during pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass

“…Some researchers have predicted lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis profiles based on the lignocellulosic composition with some degree of accuracy in thermogravimetric analyser (TGA), concluding that no detectable interactions between the three components took place during pyrolysis [8][9][10]. By contrast, some other reports claimed that the pyrolysis behaviour of lignocellulosic biomass cannot be explained by the simple superposition of three components due to their significant interactions [11][12][13][14][15], different for example from the additive behaviour found in coal macerals [16].…”