Predicting gas evolution during steam gasification of chars derived from biomass pyrolysis

Recent developments and progress on thermal pyrolysis of biomass towards high quality bio-oil: Mechanisms, comparison of conventional and recent technological advances and the potential of using non-lignocellulosic biomass as feedstock

High temperature fast pyrolysis of waste biomass in a solar-assisted quartz drop-tube reactor

Pyrolysis is an important thermochemical conversion process for biomass and is conducted in the absence of oxygen at temperatures between 400 and 1000 ∘C. Biomass pyrolysis yields cleaner combustion fuels by decreasing fuel-bound oxygen and nitrogen species, thus reducing NOX formation and net CO2 emissions. A structural model compound for cyclic peptides — important nitrogen-containing components in biomass — is 2,5-diketopiperazine (DKP). In this work, we apply an automated workflow that combines reactive molecular dynamics simulations with electronic structure calculations at different levels of theory to develop a detailed kinetic model for the pyrolysis of DKP at the level of elementary reaction steps. This complements previous studies that focused only on the net reaction scheme. The developed DKP kinetic submodel for pyrolysis is implemented in the kinetic modeling software OpenSMOKE++ . Under pyrolysis, DKP decomposes into hydrogen cyanide (HCN), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2). Ammonia (NH3) is not formed in primary decomposition steps but rather in secondary reactions involving the primary intermediates. The submodel qualitatively reproduces DKP pyrolysis products observed in a fluidized bed reactor under kinetically controlled conditions and provides a reliable basis for further studies on peptide decomposition. Beyond the specific kinetic submodel, this work proposes a general workflow for investigating thermal decomposition and combustion processes.

Structural and property synergistic correlations and sequential temperature-response mechanism of black carbon and dissolved black carbon.

Pilot-scale biomass pyrolysis dual fluidized bed with in-situ biochar recovery for high-quality bio-oil and negative carbon emissions.

This study investigated the conventional fixed-bed catalytic pyrolysis using metal oxides (CaO, Fe₂O₃, and TiO₂) to enhance bio-oil yield from three lignocellulosic biomasses: safflower press cake (SPC), coconut press cake (CPC), and coconut shell (CS). The primary characterization, using ultimate, proximate, and compositional analyses, as well as TGA-DTG-DSC, was carried out in the experiment. SPC biomass had a high hemicellulose content (50.8 ± 0.11%), which is suited for bio-oil applications. An initial non-catalytic pyrolysis experiment was conducted at 550°C with a heating rate of 25°C/min for 30min; the bio-oil yields were 34% (SPC), 29% (CPC), and 26% (CS), respectively. During the catalytic pyrolysis, TiO₂ showed its strongest catalytic activity, primarily combined with SPC biomass. Under optimized conditions 550°C, 25°C/min heating rate, and a 30-minute reaction time SPC with TiO₂ yielded a maximum bio-oil output of 71.75 ± 0.16%. In contrast, under the same conditions without a catalyst, SPC produced 34 ± 0.16% bio-oil, indicating a significant 37.5% improvement with the addition of TiO₂. Among the three biomasses, SPC showed the greatest responsiveness to catalytic enhancement, while CPC offered a better balance between oil quality and char usability. The GC-MS analysis of TiO₂-catalyzed SPC bio-oil confirmed TiO₂'s selective catalytic influence on bio-oil compound distribution by revealing a predominance of phenolic compounds, such as Guaiacol (19.8%), 2,4-Dimethoxyphenol (31.12%), and hydroxy ketones such as -Hydroxy-2-butanone (29.49%) and 1-Hydroxypropan-2-one (26.36%), confirming the superior Lewis acid catalytic mechanism of TiO₂ for the production of phenolic compounds and ketone - rich bio-oil from lignocellulosic agro-industrial wastes.

Upcycling lignocellulosic biomass using a radial-axial fixed-bed ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis reactor.

A dominance-based ternary framework for ML-guided interpretable analysis of biomass pyrolysis products.

Innovative model-optimized machine learning for high-accuracy predicting and exploring nitrogen transformation in biomass pyrolysis.

Hybrid evolutionary machine learning framework optimizing biochar production in biomass pyrolysis

A critical review of techno-economic analysis for producing transportation fuel from biomass pyrolysis

Chemical modification of oil shale ash for enhanced potassium fixation during biomass pyrolysis

Integrating TG–FTIR analysis and predictive modeling to elucidate phenolic enrichment in biomass pyrolysis over transition-metal/g-C3N4 catalysts

Unlocking the natural acid-base bifunctionality of steel slag for catalytic pyrolysis of biomass to hydrocarbons

From mechanisms to machine learning: an AI-enabled framework for biochar-based remediation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

One-step biomass pyrolysis coupled with low-temperature activation for porous nitrogen-doped biochar: Cooperative regulation, cyclic activation and nitrogen migration mechanisms

Lattice Boltzmann modeling of biomass pyrolysis: Analysis of eucalyptus pyrolysis behavior and product formation mechanisms

Relevance. Currently, the technology of low-temperature pyrolysis of biomass, including waste from woodworking and logging (wood pellets), is being developed. In this relation the mathematical models of the carbon-containing particles torrefaction in a gas stream are being developed and investigated. One of the tasks that arise in mathematical modeling is the choice of a method for calculating the thermal conductivity of porous wood pellets subjected to thermochemical processing in a gas stream at temperatures from 300 to 1000 K. A significant number of studies are devoted to the investigation and development of methods for calculating heat transfer in porous bodies. Many models of thermal conductivity of porous bodies have been proposed, based on five main models: parallel model, sequential model, two variants of the Maxwell–Aiken model, and efficient medium model. The following formulas are used in the Russian scientific community: G.N. Dulnev, N.Y. Taits, L.A. Brovkin, V.I. Odelevsky. Aim. To perform a comparative analysis of formulas for calculating the coefficient of effective thermal conductivity of porous bodies under conditions of wood pellets torrefaction, taking into account the effect of radiative heat transfer in the pores, to develop the recommendations on the choice of formulas. Object. Torrefied wood pellets. Methods. Mathematical modeling, comparative analysis. Results and conclusions. The basis for choosing the formula for calculating the effective thermal conductivity coefficient should be experimental data on the porosity of bodies and pore sizes, as well as on the thermal conductivity of porous bodies in the temperature range corresponding to the process under study. In the absence of such data, it is recommended to use the equation corresponding to the parallel model of a porous body, adjusted for radiative heat transfer according to L.A. Brovkin method. Popov S.K., Valineeva A.A., Borissova N.G. Porous particle effective thermal conductivity under torrefaction conditions. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Assets Engineering, 2026, vol. 337, no. 5, pp. 63-73. https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/5/5139

Fundamental understanding of the biomass pyrolysis process on a molecular level provides important guidelines for designing advanced porous carbon materials. In this study, the effects of KOH and K2CO3 activators on the thermal decomposition of agarose were elucidated using TG-FTIR-GCMS coupling techniques. The results demonstrate that the presence of KOH/K2CO3 shifts the pyrolysis gaseous products from organic fragments to CO2 and H2O, thereby preserving more C-C bonds in the solid phase and facilitating the subsequent aromatization process. Furthermore, compared to using KOH as the sole activator, the K2CO3/KOH co-activation strategy suppresses the violent evolution of CO2 within the 300–400 °C range, thereby alleviating the structural shock to the material skeleton and ensuring its integrity. Therefore, the HPC-KCO prepared via a synergistic KOH/K2CO3 co-activation and one-step carbonization process exhibits a high specific surface area of 1670 m2 g−1 and successfully retains its interconnected hierarchical porous framework. Benefiting from its well-developed porous structure, HPC-KCO exhibits an impressive specific capacitance of 370 F g−1 when employed in zinc-ion capacitors. Furthermore, the assembled symmetric supercapacitor demonstrates robust stability over a wide temperature range from −60 to 100 °C, delivering a remarkable capacitance of 121 F g−1 even at −60 °C. This work offers a new insight for synthesizing porous structures of biomass-derived carbon.