Molecular beam mass spectrometric characterization of biomass pyrolysis products for fuels and chemicals

Converting biomass feedstocks to fuels and chemicals requires rapid characterization of the wide variety of possible feedstocks. The combination of pyrolysis molecular beam mass spectrometry (Py-MBMS) and multivariate statistical analysis offers a unique capability for characterizing these feedstocks. Herbaceous and woody biomass feedstocks that were harvested at different periods were used in this study. The pyrolysis mass spectral data were acquired in real time on the MBMS, and multivariate statistical analysis (factor analysis) was used to analyze and classify Py-MBMS data into compound classes. The effect of harvest times on the thermal conversion of these feedstocks was assessed from these data. Apart from sericea lespedeza, the influence of harvest time on the pyrolysis products of the various feedstocks was insignificant. For sericea lespedeza, samples harvested before plant defoliation were significantly different from those harvested after defoliation. The defoliated plant samples had higher carbohydrate-derived pyrolysis products than the samples obtained from the foliated plant. Additionally, char yields from the defoliated plant samples were lower than those from the foliated plant samples.