Pyrolysis behavior and product distributions of biomass six group components: Starch, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, protein and oil

Abstract Pyrolysis of more biomass group components should be studied in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of various biomass pyrolysis. In this study, chemical properties of six biomass group components, namely, starch, cellulose, Hemicellulose (Hem), lignin, protein and oil, were evaluated and their pyrolysis behavior, gaseous product evolution, kinetics and product distributions were investigated using TG-FTIR and Py-GC/MS. The results indicated that their devolatilization sensitivity to heating rate followed the order of Hem > starch > oil > cellulose ≈ protein > lignin. Kinetic results revealed that it was difficult to pyrolyze for biomass rich in oil and lignin but easy to pyrolyze for biomass rich in cellulose, starch, Hem and protein. During their pyrolysis, polysaccharides (starch, cellulose and Hem) mainly generated oxygen-containing components such as C O and O-heterocycles; lignin mainly contributed to the formation of phenols (up to 81.4%); protein produced nitrogen-containing components (up to 52.71%), including N-heterocycles, pyrroles, pyridines, nitriles, and amines/amides; oil generated large quantities of alkenes (46.48%). Finally, this research would serve to gain further insight into biomass pyrolysis containing different group components.