There has been an enormous amount of research in recent years in the area of thermo-chemical conversion of biomass into bio-fuels (bio-oil, bio-char and bio-gas) through pyrolysis technology due to its several socio-economic advantages as well as the fact it is an efficient conversion method compared to other thermo-chemical conversion technologies. However, this technology is not yet fully developed with respect to its commercial applications. In this study, more than two hundred publications are reviewed, discussed and summarized, with the emphasis being placed on the current status of pyrolysis technology and its potential for commercial applications for bio-fuel production. Aspects of pyrolysis technology such as pyrolysis principles, biomass sources and characteristics, types of pyrolysis, pyrolysis reactor design, pyrolysis products and their characteristics and economics of bio-fuel production are presented. It is found from this study that conversion of biomass to bio-fuel has to overcome challenges such as understanding the trade-off between the size of the pyrolysis plant and feedstock, improvement of the reliability of pyrolysis reactors and processes to become viable for commercial applications. Further study is required to achieve a better understanding of the economics of biomass pyrolysis for bio-fuel production, as well as resolving issues related to the capabilities of this technology in practical application.

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/1011788.pdf

Biofuels production through biomass pyrolysis - a technological review.

Recent advances for dyes removal using novel adsorbents: A review

Biomass is currently the most widespread form of renewable energy and its exploitation is further increasing due to the concerns over the devastative impacts of fossil fuel consumption, i.e., climate change, global warming and their negative impacts on human health. In line with that, the present articles reviews the different sources of biomass available, along with their chemical composition and properties. Subsequently, different conversion technologies (i.e., thermo-chemical, biochemical, and physico-chemical conversions) and their corresponding products are reviewed and discussed. In the continuation, the global status of biomass vs. the other renewable energies is scrutinized. Moreover, biomass-derived energy production was analyzed from economic and environmental perspectives. Finally, the challenges faced to further expand the share of biomass-derived energy carriers in the global energy market are presented.

A review on biomass: importance, chemistry, classification, and conversion

Valorization of biomass waste to engineered activated biochar by microwave pyrolysis: Progress, challenges, and future directions

Pyrolysis is a promising bioconversion technique for energy recovery, waste management, and converting biomass into useful energy products which has attracted considerable attention during the past decades. Char/carbonaceous residue, bio-oil, and syngas are the three main products of the pyrolysis process. The pyrolysis technique is one of the major barriers for large-scale commercialization of this method. This study strives to extensively review the recent work on microwave-assisted technology applied to the pyrolysis process as a way of cost reduction. The fundamentals of microwave irradiation and a brief background of pyrolysis are presented. Additionally, biomass resources which can be the raw material for pyrolysis process have been categorized and reviewed in this paper. The effectual parameters of the microwave-assisted pyrolysis process and advantages of this technique have been summarized. It is concluded that microwave-assisted technology is an effectual method to reduce the pyrolysis reaction time and increases the quality of value-added products from different kinds of feedstocks. In addition, this technique can overcome the needs of feedstock shredding and improves the quality of heating as well. Therefore, it can be a suitable method for decreasing the pyrolysis processing cost and a pathway out of poverty for developing countries.

Xiqiang Zhao

Papers

Review on microwave–metal discharges and their applications in energy and industrial processes

Microwave pyrolysis of corn stalk bale: A promising method for direct utilization of large-sized biomass and syngas production

Microwave pyrolysis of straw bale and energy balance analysis

A microwave reactor for characterization of pyrolyzed biomass

Microwave drying performance of single-particle coal slime and energy consumption analyses