Effect of pyrolysis conditions on gasification reactivity of woody biomass-derived char

The effect of pyrolysis conditions on char reactivity has been studied using Raman spectroscopy. This paper reports on the relationship between the properties of biomass char and the gasification rate. The gasification kinetics of biomass char have been revealed by measuring the rate of weight loss during its reaction with CO2 as a function of temperature. First-order kinetic rate constants are determined by fitting the weight loss data using a random pore model. The relationship between the char structure and CO2 gasification reactivity was investigated in the range of 15–600 °C/min at a constant pyrolysis pressure (0.1 MPa), and 0.1–3.0 MPa at a constant heating rate (15 °C/min). The experimental results reveal that the reactivity of biomass char is determined by the pyrolysis condition. The CO2 gasification rates in char generated at 0.1 MPa exhibited approximately twice the values as compared to those obtained at 3 MPa. This is because the uniformity of the carbonaceous structure increases with the pyrolysis pressure. The uniformity of carbonaceous structures would affect the CO2 gasification reactivity, and the decreasing uniformity would lead to the progression of cavities on the char surface during the CO2 gasification process. The gasification rate of biomass char increases with the heating rate at pyrolysis. This is due to the coarseness (surface morphology) of biomass char and rough texture, which increases with the heating rate.