Production of phenols and charcoal from bagasse by a rapid continuous pyrolysis process

Abstract

Tar and charcoal could be produced in high yields from bagasse by applying a rapid continuous pyrolysis process at a relatively low temperature. The ether extractives of the pyrolytic tar and oil amounted to 9.4% based on bagasse. Phenols represented 79% of these extractives. Gas chromatographic separation showed that guaiacol and its derivatives constituted 38% of the identified simple phenols. There were much smaller amounts of syringol and none at high pyrolysis temperatures. Depithing did not reduce the ash content of the charcoal, but it yielded an environmentally clean charcoal containing practically no sulfur or nitrogen. It was necessary to remove the fine particle size fraction of the bagasse after grinding in order to reduce the ash content of the charcoal. The carbon content of the charcoal increased rapidly with increasing temperature, and reached 96% at 720°C. The charcoal had a remarkably high adsorption capacity despite the fact that it had not been subjected to any activation treatment.