Fast pyrolysis utilizes biomass to produce a product that is used both as an energy source and a feedstock for chemical production. Considerable efforts have been made to convert wood biomass to liquid fuels and chemicals since the oil crisis in mid-1970s. This review focuses on the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrolysis. Virtually any form of biomass can be considered for fast pyrolysis. Most work has been performed on wood, because of its consistency and comparability between tests. However, nearly 100 types of biomass have been tested, ranging from agricultural wastes such as straw, olive pits, and nut shells to energy crops such as miscanthus and sorghum. Forestry wastes such as bark and thinnings and other solid wastes, including sewage sludge and leather wastes, have also been studied. In this review, the main (although not exclusive) emphasis has been given to wood. The literature on woo...

Pyrolysis of Wood/Biomass for Bio-oil: A Critical Review

Production of biochar (the carbon (C)-rich solid formed by pyrolysis of biomass) and its storage in soils have been suggested as a means of abating climate change by sequestering carbon, while simultaneously providing energy and increasing crop yields. Substantial uncertainties exist, however, regarding the impact, capacity and sustainability of biochar at the global level. In this paper we estimate the maximum sustainable technical potential of biochar to mitigate climate change. Annual net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane and nitrous oxide could be reduced by a maximum of 1.8 Pg CO 2 -C equivalent (CO 2 -C e ) per year (12 % of current anthropogenic CO 2 -C e emissions; 1 Pg = 1 Gt), and total net emissions over the course of a century by 130 Pg CO 2 -C e , without endangering food security, habitat or soil conservation. Biochar has a larger climate-change mitigation potential than combustion of the same sustainably procured biomass for bioenergy, except when fertile soils are amended while coal is the fuel being offset.

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Sustainable biochar to mitigate global climate change

High-performance gas sensors prepared using p-type oxide semiconductors such as NiO, CuO, Cr2O3, Co3O4, and Mn3O4 were reviewed. The ionized adsorption of oxygen on p-type oxide semiconductors leads to the formation of hole-accumulation layers (HALs), and conduction occurs mainly along the near-surface HAL. Thus, the chemoresistive variations of undoped p-type oxide semiconductors are lower than those induced at the electron-depletion layers of n-type oxide semiconductors. However, highly sensitive and selective p-type oxide-semiconductor-based gas sensors can be designed either by controlling the carrier concentration through aliovalent doping or by promoting the sensing reaction of a specific gas through doping/loading the sensor material with oxide or noble metal catalysts. The junction between p- and n-type oxide semiconductors fabricated with different contact configurations can provide new strategies for designing gas sensors. p-Type oxide semiconductors with distinctive surface reactivity and oxygen adsorption are also advantageous for enhancing gas selectivity, decreasing the humidity dependence of sensor signals to negligible levels, and improving recovery speed. Accordingly, p-type oxide semiconductors are excellent materials not only for fabricating highly sensitive and selective gas sensors but also valuable additives that provide new functionality in gas sensors, which will enable the development of high-performance gas sensors.

Highly sensitive and selective gas sensors using p-type oxide semiconductors: Overview

Formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their growth to soot—a review of chemical reaction pathways

Lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis mechanism: A state-of-the-art review

FT-Raman spectroscopic study of the evolution of char structure during the pyrolysis of a Victorian brown coal

Some recent advances in the understanding of the pyrolysis and gasification behaviour of Victorian brown coal

Fates and roles of alkali and alkaline earth metals during the pyrolysis of a Victorian brown coal

This paper presents an investigation of the production of crude bio-oil, char, and pyrolytic gases from the fast pyrolysis of mallee woody biomass in Australia. The feedstock was ground, sieved to several narrow particle size ranges, and dried prior to pyrolysis in a novel laboratory-scale fluidized-bed reactor. The effects of pyrolysis temperature (350−600 °C), and biomass particle size (100−600 μm), on the yields and composition of bio-oil, gas, and char are reported. In agreement with previous reports, the pyrolysis temperature has an important impact on the yield and composition of bio-oil, char, and gases. Biomass particle size has a significant effect on the water content of bio-oil. It is interesting to note that the temperature for maximum bio-oil yield, between 450 and 475 °C, resulted in an oil with the highest content of oligomers and, consequently, with the highest viscosity. Such observations suggest that the conventional viewpoint of pyrolyzing biomass at temperatures over 400 °C to maximize...

Chun-Zhu Li

Papers

FT-Raman spectroscopic study of the evolution of char structure during the pyrolysis of a Victorian brown coal

Some recent advances in the understanding of the pyrolysis and gasification behaviour of Victorian brown coal

Fates and roles of alkali and alkaline earth metals during the pyrolysis of a Victorian brown coal

Fast pyrolysis of Oil Mallee Woody Biomass : Effect of temperature on the yield and quality of pyrolysis products

Effects of particle size on the fast pyrolysis of oil mallee woody biomass