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12 - Pyrolysis: a Sustainable Way From Biomass to Biofuels and Biochar

from Part III - Biochar Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2016

By
Başak B. Uzun ,
Esin Apaydın Varol  and
Ersan Pütün
Edited by
Viktor J. Bruckman ,
Esin Apaydın Varol ,
Bașak B. Uzun  and
Jay Liu
Viktor J. Bruckman
Affiliation:
Austrian Academy of Sciences
Esin Apaydın Varol
Affiliation:
Anadolu University, Turkey
Bașak B. Uzun
Affiliation:
Anadolu University, Turkey
Jay Liu
Affiliation:
Pukyong National University, South Korea
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Summary

Abstract

Biomass provides 14% of the world’s primary energy production, but it is largely wasted by inefficient and unsustainable use. To exploit the full potential of this energy source, new approaches and modern technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification are needed. Pyrolysis is the most promising thermal decomposition method for the conversion of biomass into valuable bio-products. The process produces a solid fraction (biochar), a liquid fraction (bio-oil) and a mixture of gases. Depending on pyrolysis conditions, biochar for soil amendment, activated carbon, carbon fibers, bio-fuels, value-added chemicals (PF type adhesives, phenolics, levoglucosan, octane enhancers, fertilizers) and gas products (hydrogen, methane, ethane and propane) could be achieved. The ratio of the products varies with the chemical composition of the biomass and operating conditions such as pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, reactor configuration, pyrolysis atmosphere, reaction time, particle size and so on. In the scope of this issue, this chapter covers the definition and sources of biomass, thermal behavior of biomass and its components, fundamentals of the pyrolysis process, and effects of the process parameters on yields and composition of products. Moreover, properties of bio-oil and biochar are explained according to their utilization areas.

Type
Chapter
Information
Biochar
A Regional Supply Chain Approach in View of Climate Change Mitigation
 , pp. 239 - 265
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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