This paper synthesizes published literature and our research group's data on chemical transformations during biomass pyrolysis. The focus will be upon the effects of heating rate and final treatment temperature, with an emphasis on variations in organic chemical properties of charred solids and pyrolysis liquids. In charcoals, the final treatment temperature controls the degree of aromatic ring condensation. The average number of fused aromatic rings increases monotonically with temperature, whereas the average carbon number of cross-links between aromatic rings decreases.  In pyrolysis liquids, water and water soluble organic compounds are the main products, while water-insoluble oils typically constitute 10 � 20 wt % of the biomass starting materials. We summarize the effects of heating rate and temperature on the molecular composition of liquids, drawing upon nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and high-resolution mass spectrometry datasets.

Influence of pyrolysis conditions on the organic chemistry of bio-oils and bio-chars: An overview

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.