Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis
A high load of inorganics in raw lignocellulosic biomass is known to inhibit the yield of bio-oil and alter the chemical reactions during fast pyrolysis of biomass. In this study, palm kernel shell (PKS), an agricultural residue from palm oil production, and two other woody biomass samples (mahogany...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2377 |
| _version_ | 1797615362503606272 |
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| author | David O. Usino Taner Sar Päivi Ylitervo Tobias Richards |
| author_facet | David O. Usino Taner Sar Päivi Ylitervo Tobias Richards |
| author_sort | David O. Usino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A high load of inorganics in raw lignocellulosic biomass is known to inhibit the yield of bio-oil and alter the chemical reactions during fast pyrolysis of biomass. In this study, palm kernel shell (PKS), an agricultural residue from palm oil production, and two other woody biomass samples (mahogany (MAH) sawdust and iroko (IRO) sawdust) were pretreated with distilled water or an acidic solution (either acetic, formic, hydrochloric (HCl) or sulfuric acid (H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>)) before fast pyrolysis in order to investigate its effect on the primary products and pyrolysis reaction pathways. The raw and pretreated PKS, MAH and IRO were pyrolysed at 600 °C and 5 s with a micro-pyrolyser connected to a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer/flame ionisation detector (GC-MS/FID). Of the leaching solutions, HCl was the most effective in removing inorganics from the biomass and enhancing the primary pyrolysis product formed compared to the organic acids (acetic and formic acid). The production of levoglucosan was greatly improved for all pretreated biomasses when compared to the original biomass but especially after HCl pretreatment. Additionally, the relative content of the saccharides was maximised after pretreatment with H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4,</sub> which was due to the increased production of levoglucosenone. The relative content of the saccharides increased by over 70%. This increase may have occurred due to a possible reaction catalysed by the remaining acid in the biomass. The production of furans, especially furfural, was increased for all pretreatments but most noticeable when H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> was used. However, the relative content of acids and ketones was generally reduced for PKS, MAH and IRO across all leaching solutions. The relative content of the phenol-type compound decreased to a large extent during pyrolysis after acid pretreatment, which may be attributed to dehydration and demethoxylation reactions. This study shows that the production of valuable chemicals could be promoted by pretreatment with different acid solutions. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1cbe402981f1464fb03fca9d8685b603 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:25:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-1cbe402981f1464fb03fca9d8685b6032023-11-17T07:37:50ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-03-01165237710.3390/en16052377Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast PyrolysisDavid O. Usino0Taner Sar1Päivi Ylitervo2Tobias Richards3Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenA high load of inorganics in raw lignocellulosic biomass is known to inhibit the yield of bio-oil and alter the chemical reactions during fast pyrolysis of biomass. In this study, palm kernel shell (PKS), an agricultural residue from palm oil production, and two other woody biomass samples (mahogany (MAH) sawdust and iroko (IRO) sawdust) were pretreated with distilled water or an acidic solution (either acetic, formic, hydrochloric (HCl) or sulfuric acid (H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>)) before fast pyrolysis in order to investigate its effect on the primary products and pyrolysis reaction pathways. The raw and pretreated PKS, MAH and IRO were pyrolysed at 600 °C and 5 s with a micro-pyrolyser connected to a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer/flame ionisation detector (GC-MS/FID). Of the leaching solutions, HCl was the most effective in removing inorganics from the biomass and enhancing the primary pyrolysis product formed compared to the organic acids (acetic and formic acid). The production of levoglucosan was greatly improved for all pretreated biomasses when compared to the original biomass but especially after HCl pretreatment. Additionally, the relative content of the saccharides was maximised after pretreatment with H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4,</sub> which was due to the increased production of levoglucosenone. The relative content of the saccharides increased by over 70%. This increase may have occurred due to a possible reaction catalysed by the remaining acid in the biomass. The production of furans, especially furfural, was increased for all pretreatments but most noticeable when H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> was used. However, the relative content of acids and ketones was generally reduced for PKS, MAH and IRO across all leaching solutions. The relative content of the phenol-type compound decreased to a large extent during pyrolysis after acid pretreatment, which may be attributed to dehydration and demethoxylation reactions. This study shows that the production of valuable chemicals could be promoted by pretreatment with different acid solutions.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2377fast pyrolysisprimary productspretreatment of biomassPy-GC/MS/FID |
| spellingShingle | David O. Usino Taner Sar Päivi Ylitervo Tobias Richards Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Energies fast pyrolysis primary products pretreatment of biomass Py-GC/MS/FID |
| title | Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis |
| title_full | Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis |
| title_short | Effect of Acid Pretreatment on the Primary Products of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis |
| title_sort | effect of acid pretreatment on the primary products of biomass fast pyrolysis |
| topic | fast pyrolysis primary products pretreatment of biomass Py-GC/MS/FID |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2377 |
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