Fast Pyrolysis of Corn Stover and Sawdust in a Novel Reactor

As a result of national energy security, economic growth, and environmental concerns, recently fast pyrolysis process has been attracting much attention nationwide for effectively converting various biomass feedstocks into bio-oil as an alternative to fossil fuels. Former research indicated that the yield and properties of bio-oil are heavily affected by the feedstock species, reactor type, and operating conditions. In order to produce high quality bio-oil that can be easier converted into drop-in fuels in sequent upgrading process, a novel fast pyrolysis reactor was developed and tested in this study. Corn stover and pine sawdust were used as feedstocks and pyrolyzed at different temperatures. Characterization of the produced raw bio-oil was conducted. The results showed that the novel reactor can pyrolyze corn stover and sawdust easily with a bio-oil yield rate in a range of 40%~50% w.t. depending on feedstock species and operating conditions, the properties of raw bio-oil may also vary. Further research is recommended for the improvement of reactor performance and pyrolysis process.