Cottonwood poplar (Populus deltoides) is considered a suitable renewable biomass resource for fuels and chemicals due to its wide geographical distribution, tolerance to environmental factors, and rapid growth. In this study, poplar biomass from three different tree components (main trunk, stems, and branches) was processed via pyrolysis using a novel inductively heated reactor. The yields of liquid bio-oil, gas, and char were compared to those obtained for switchgrass, another feedstock currently being developed as a renewable source of biomass. The pyrolysis was carried out in a cylindrical stainless steel reactor, inductively heated. The effects of three different temperatures (450, 500, and 550 oC), which were chosen based on preliminary optimization experiments, were tested on the yield and composition of the bio-oils produced. The highest amount of bio-oil of 39.8% was obtained at 450 oC from poplar stem while that obtained from poplar branch produced the least (33.0% at 550 oC). The maximum bio-oil yields for the main trunk was 38.4% at 500 oC, while the highest yield for the branches was 35.6% at 450 oC. Water content in the bio-oil obtained from switchgrass was significantly higher than those from any of the poplar tree parts. The GC-MS analysis indicated that bio-oil compositions are similar among the various parts of poplar trees, with phenols being the dominant chemical specie for all bio-oil samples analyzed. With increasing temperature, an increase in furans is observed. Bio-oil fractions derived from biomass pyrolysis of the trunk and stems have higher HHV than those from switchgrass, with the average HHV of bio-oils ranging from 17.4 - 19.4 MJ/kg. Gas and char analysis was used to evaluate the overall energy produced through this process. In this study, bio-oils derived from poplar main trunk and stem showed greater yields and greater calorific content than bio-oils derived from poplar branches.

Comparison of pyrolysis products yields derived from three different parts of poplar trees using a novel reactor

255th National Meeting (2018)

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