(738b) The Kinetic and Chemistry of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Using Novel Micro-Sphere Micro-Reactor Technology
AIChE Annual Meeting
2018
2018 AIChE Annual Meeting
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division
Pyrolysis of Biomass
Friday, November 2, 2018 - 8:22am to 8:44am
Biomass fast pyrolysis promises to be an effective and environmentally sustainable path to
renewable energy and organic starting materials, i.e., a replacement for petroleum. In biomass
fast pyrolysis, the reactor is the performance-controlling process and a variety of alternatives
have been considered at all scales, laboratory, pilot and pre-commercial/commercial. Factors
including gas and condensed-phase residence time, type and amount of pyrolysis products and
geometry of particle have not been clearly correlated. To close this gap, a novel laboratory-scale
microsphere micro-reactor (MSMR) fast pyrolysis technique and associated technology for
production of manufactured biomass microspheres was developed. This work emphasized the
application of the MSMR to study fast pyrolysis of whole biomass (switchgrass and tall fescue)
and cellulose at different temperatures (500-900°C). A continuum-base model was also
developed to investigate the effect of transport conditions, e.g. temperature inside the biomass
microsphere, for different size particles (100-400 μm) during the highly dynamic process.
Finally, the kinetics of the reaction and time-domain chemistry changes during fast pyrolysis
were studied by coupling the micro-reactor with a fast flame ionization detector (fast-FID) and
fast scan speed, low residence time mass spectrometer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL).
renewable energy and organic starting materials, i.e., a replacement for petroleum. In biomass
fast pyrolysis, the reactor is the performance-controlling process and a variety of alternatives
have been considered at all scales, laboratory, pilot and pre-commercial/commercial. Factors
including gas and condensed-phase residence time, type and amount of pyrolysis products and
geometry of particle have not been clearly correlated. To close this gap, a novel laboratory-scale
microsphere micro-reactor (MSMR) fast pyrolysis technique and associated technology for
production of manufactured biomass microspheres was developed. This work emphasized the
application of the MSMR to study fast pyrolysis of whole biomass (switchgrass and tall fescue)
and cellulose at different temperatures (500-900°C). A continuum-base model was also
developed to investigate the effect of transport conditions, e.g. temperature inside the biomass
microsphere, for different size particles (100-400 μm) during the highly dynamic process.
Finally, the kinetics of the reaction and time-domain chemistry changes during fast pyrolysis
were studied by coupling the micro-reactor with a fast flame ionization detector (fast-FID) and
fast scan speed, low residence time mass spectrometer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL).