Intermediate pyrolysis campaign to assess products yield and quality varying biomass particles size, temperatures and composition

Conversely to fast pyrolysis, in which the most abundant product is the pyrolysis oil, intermediate pyrolysis generates comparable amounts of solid, gaseous and liquid products. The present work reports the results of intermediate pyrolysis experiments of lignocellulosic biomass performed in a semi-continuous stirred bed reactor, rated for a nominal capacity up to 1.5 kg h–1 of biomass feed. Bio-oil properties resulted similar to commercial fast pyrolysis oil in terms of organic-rich fraction, but a lower yield was attained. The oil contains an unusual large amount of water, probably due to long residence time and the catalytic effect of the accumulated char into pyrolysis reactor. Char was characterised and evaluated for agriculture applications, while the permanent gases were measured and evaluated as energy carrier for the process itself. These data can potentially be used in the design and modelling of larger-scale unit. [Received: May 6, 2016; Accepted: January 28, 2017]