(85c) Modeling Laboratory Circulating Fluid Bed Fast Pyrolysis Using Representative Compounds for Improved Product Quality and Hydrogen Retention

Fast Pyrolysis continues to be one of the most-used first steps of biomass conversion technologies.  Fast Pyrolysis is a continuous process that provides a higher throughput alternative to other approaches.  Most of the work on fast pyrolysis uses biomass or lignin.  While thermodynamics may be used to predict the products of thermal cracking, fundamental kinetic data from fast pyrolysis in a circulating fluid-bed reactor is needed to build models of a process or reactor data and how it responds to a matrix of operating variables for improving fast pyrolysis products’ quality, yield, and composition.  Fundamental data from the literature and laboratory data will be used to build a calculation model showing the effect of operating conditions on improving fast pyrolysis product quality.  Most of the variables tested in the laboratory will be set at constant values with the exception of:  lift gas type, fluidized solid type (minerals, inert, zeolite, etc.), and feed additives.  For the laboratory work, model compounds will be used to rule out feedstock matrix effects and to allow for modeling of pyrolysis by providing base case results.  In the presentation, simple models will be presented with the underlying laboratory data.