Quantification of the influence of particle diameter on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) formation in fluidized bed biomass pyrolysis

This model is applied to investigate the prevailing controlling parameters of devolatilization and their influence on the tar yields from a fluidized bed reactor and is validated against existing experimental data (Gaston et al., 2011). From this analysis we assess the impact of controllable parameters (e.g. reactor temperature and particle radius) on the devolatilization of biomass and the production of primary tar compounds responsible for the formation of PAHs. A strong correlation between particle diameter and PAH formation is identified and a physiochemical mechanism, via the production of sinapoyl aldehyde during low-temperature devolatilization due to heat transfer limitations in larger particles, is proposed.