Biomass pyrolysis: A review of the process development and challenges from initial researches up to the commercialisation stage

Abstract

Abstract Lignocellulosic biomass can be convert to a condensable liquid named bio-oil, a solid product named as char and a mixture of gaseous products comprising CO2, CO, H2, CH4, etc. In recent years, much effort has been made on the investigation of conversion of biomass through pyrolysis. However, commercialisation of the biomass pyrolysis technology is still challenging due to various issues such as the deleterious properties of bio-oil including the low heating value and the high instability at elevated temperatures. To overcome such issues, many processes, reactors and catalysts have been developed for pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis of biomass. A state to the art of pyrolysis or catalytic pyrolysis of biomass need to be summarised to have an overall evaluation of the technologies, in order to provide a useful reference for the further development of pyrolysis technology. This study reviews the various pyrolysis process, especially focus on the effects of essential parameters, the process design, the reactors and the catalysts on the pyrolysis process. In addition, progress in commercialisation of pyrolysis technology was also reviewed and the remaining issues in the process of commercialisation were discussed.