The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of temperature and reaction time on the primary pyrolysis of cellulose and xylan. Fast pyrolysis of cellulose and xylan was carried out with a micropyrolyser connected to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer/flame ionisation detector (GC–MS/FID) to separate and identify volatile components, both qualitatively and quantitatively. This set-up meant a minimum amount of secondary reactions, low impact of the heating period and at the same time provided rapid and accurate analyses. The two biomass components investigated were: cellulose and hemicellulose (represented by xylan). They were pyrolysed during 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 s (s) and within a temperature range of 400–600 °C. The results showed that levoglucosan (1, 6-anhydro β-D-glucopyranose) is the main chemical compound released during cellulose pyrolysis. It increased with increasing temperature and time. The main volatile compounds produced from pyrolysis of xylan are: 1-hydroxy-2-butanone, 4-hydroxy-5, 6-dihydro-(2 H)-pyran-2-one, 1-hydroxy-2-propanone (acetol), acetaldehyde and hydroxyacetaldehyde (HAA). HAA was the most abundant chemical compound released during xylan pyrolysis, increasing with higher temperatures and time. Acetol and acetaldehyde also showed similar behaviour. The chemical compounds released from cellulose and xylan fast pyrolysis are primary products and assumed to be produced directly from both cellulose and xylan molecules and not from secondary degradation. In this study, possible reaction routes during biomass primary pyrolysis are also suggested based on the product distribution from the thermal decomposition of cellulose and xylan.

This study focused on the effect of temperature and residence time on the primary thermal decomposition reactions during a fast pyrolysis of softwood alkali lignin. The use of Py-GC/MS/FID (Micropyrolyser-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry/Flame Ionization Detector) allowed for rapid heating of the sample and detailed identification and quantification of the pyrolysis products at a temperature range of 400–600 °C, with residence times from 0.5–5 s. The identified primary pyrolysis products were mainly volatile guaiacyl-type compounds. There was a general increase in yield for the majority of the volatile compounds with increased temperature and time. The cleavage of the lignin polymer to linear carbonyl (acetaldehyde) and guaiacyl-type aromatic compounds increased with temperature, while that of catechol and cresol type was mainly favoured at 500 and 600 °C. Based on these results, a mechanistic pathway for the pyrolytic process was proposed, drawing a linkage from structural units of lignin to the formed primary products. In summary, our findings suggest that the primary decomposition reactions that occur under the fast pyrolysis conditions can be controlled by varying the process temperature and residence time, and deliver mechanistic insight into the product distribution from structurally complex lignin material.

This study aimed to establish primary reactions and identify gaseous products during fast pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). Fast pyrolysis was performed by using Py-GC/MS/FID at 574 ± 22 °C for 5 s. Gaseous fractions formed during pyrolysis of LDPE, PP and PS were 14 ± 1 wt%, 31 ± 3 wt% and 103 ± 12 wt%, respectively. The main gaseous compounds from LDPE were butane, 1-pentane and 1-hexene. PP pyrolysis gave propene, pentane and 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene as the main gaseous compounds. Styrene monomer was the dominant gas from PS. The results showed that polyolefin (PP and PE) produced aliphatic hydrocarbons, while PS formed aromatic hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the proposed mechanism suggests that both inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen transfer occur during PP and PE pyrolysis. PS pyrolysis involves a C-C cleavage at the aliphatic side chain. This work is important to understand the mechanism of gas formation of primary reactions from pyrolysis of common plastics.

Bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of wood contains oxygenates and has a relatively low heating value. These are challenges that need to be tackled if wood-derived bio-oil is to be used as drop-in fuels. The bio-oil can be obtained by condensation of gaseous products. Using a material with no oxygen in addition to wood during fast pyrolysis could be a technique to reduce the formation of oxygenates and promote a hydrocarbon-rich product. This work aims to evaluate the primary gaseous products formed during fast co-pyrolysis of birch wood and plastic. The pyrolysis was performed in a micropyrolyser at 600 °C with a residence time of 5 s. Birch wood and plastic were melt-mixed at different weight ratios to study possible interaction effects upon pyrolysis. The different plastics used were low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). The total gaseous product was between 10–20 wt% from Wood-LDPE or Wood-PP, while it was in the range 15–90 wt% from Wood-PS. The analysis of gas product found that the formation of oxygenates (up to 9 wt%) was lower than expected (up to 14 wt%) for the mixtures of wood and plastic compared to the pure materials (about 18 wt%). The reduction of oxygenates (up to 90 %) was mainly due to a lower production of ketones, carboxylic acids and aldehydes. Maximum hydrocarbons in the gas phase from binary mixtures were around 8, 15 and 55 wt% from Wood-LDPE, Wood-PP and Wood-PS, respectively. The most significant difference between experimental and estimated values assuming no interaction among hydrocarbons was observed in the case of alkenes and alkanes for Wood-LDPE, as well as alkanes for Wood-PS, while the Wood and PP mixture showed almost no signs of interaction. This work is beneficial for understanding interactions between wood and plastics, and could be used to reduce the amount of oxygenates from wood pyrolysis and reduce the need for upgrading.