Microwave pyrolysis of moso bamboo for syngas production and bio-oil upgrading over bamboo-based biochar catalyst

Microwave pyrolysis of moso bamboo over bamboo-based biochar catalyst was conducted to achieve the bio-oil upgrading and high quality syngas production. The influence of the biochar on bamboo pyrolysis involving the temperature rise, product yield, and bio-oil and gas compositions was studied. The gas production was facilitated by the biochar mainly at the cost of the bio-oil, indicating the biochar had an excellent activity for the bio-oil cracking. The main compositions in bio-oil were acetic acid and phenol with the total contents ranging from 73.145% to 82.84% over the biochar catalysts, suggesting the upgrading of the bio-oil were achieved. The biochar exerted a positive effect on the syngas (CO + H2) production with the maximum content reaching up to 65.13 vol% at the 20 wt% addition amount of biochar under microwave condition. The biochar became more effective on the bio-oil upgrading and syngas production under microwave heating than conventional heating.