Hydrocarbon content of liquid products and tar from pyrolysis and gasification of wood

Vacuum pyrolysis of aspen poplar wood chips was performed in a multiple hearth furnace process development unit. Various pyrolysis oils were collected in a series of cooling traps installed in parallel at the reactor outlets (primary condensing unit, H-I to H-VI). An aqueous phase containing about 45% water (96% of the total pyrolysis water) was collected separately in a secondary condensing unit (C-1 to C-3) which contained high-volatile and partially water soluble organic matter. Liquid-liquid and liquid-solid chromatographic techniques were developed to separate aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons