Gyung-Goo Choi

Production of bio-based phenolic resin and activated carbon from bio-oil and biochar derived from fast pyrolysis of palm kernel shells.

A fraction of palm kernel shells (PKS) was pyrolyzed in a fluidized bed reactor. The experiments were performed in a temperature range of 479-555 °C to produce bio-oil, biochar, and gas. All the bio-oils were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by GC-FID and GC-MS. The maximum content of phenolic compounds in the bio-oil was 24.8 wt.% at ∼500 °C. The maximum phenol content in the bio-oil, as determined by the external standard method, was 8.1 wt.%. A bio-oil derived from the pyrolysis of PKS was used in the synthesis of phenolic resin, showing that the bio-oil could substitute for fossil phenol up to 25 wt.%. The biochar was activated using CO2 at a final activation temperature of 900 °C with different activation time (1-3 h) to produce activated carbon. Activated carbons produced were microporous, and the maximum surface area of the activated carbons produced was 807 m(2)/g.

Pyrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Biochemical Production

Abstract Biomass pyrolysis is considered as a promising technology of producing valuable biochemicals. Representative chemicals that can be obtained from the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass include acetic acid, furfural, and phenolic compounds. Acetic acid is primarily generated from the degradation of hemicellulose and partly from the degradation of cellulose and lignin. Furfural is a typical degradation product of hemicellulose, whereas phenolic compounds are the degradation products of lignin. This chapter covers the mechanism of formation of the above-stated chemicals during pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and presents experimental data for the production of these chemicals via pyrolysis of different lignocellulosic feedstocks under various conditions.