Characterisation of spruce, salix, miscanthus and wheat straw for pyrolysis applications

► Compositional analysis and pyrolytic characterisation of lignocellulosic biomasses. ► Herbaceous biomass contains more ash and xylose compared to woody biomass. ► Decreased temperature of maximum decomposition for high ash feedstocks (TGA). ► Lignin-derived compounds indicative of lignin structure in biomass (Py-GC/MS). ► Decomposition of hollocellulose components influenced by alkali metals in ash.