Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium
A new approach to pyrolysis is demonstrated that uses microwave heating combined with an external liquid media at atmospheric pressure. The liquid acts as the inerting medium instead of the traditional inert gas, and also acts as a heat-sink to maintain the external temperature at the normal boiling...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53974/ |
| _version_ | 1848799002281115648 |
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| author | Shepherd, B.J. Ryan, J. Adam, M. Beneroso Vallejo, D. Castaño, P. Kostas, E.T. Robinson, J.P. |
| author_facet | Shepherd, B.J. Ryan, J. Adam, M. Beneroso Vallejo, D. Castaño, P. Kostas, E.T. Robinson, J.P. |
| author_sort | Shepherd, B.J. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | A new approach to pyrolysis is demonstrated that uses microwave heating combined with an external liquid media at atmospheric pressure. The liquid acts as the inerting medium instead of the traditional inert gas, and also acts as a heat-sink to maintain the external temperature at the normal boiling point of the liquid. The ability to regulate the external temperature using a liquid offers significant advantages over established pyrolysis technologies and is only possible due to the selective and volumetric heating that occurs with microwaves. The new concept overcomes many of the challenges encountered in traditional and gas-based microwave pyrolysis processes, producing a bio-oil that naturally partitions into a sugar-rich aqueous phase and a phenol-rich organic phase. Energy requirements are as low as 2 kJ/g for 50% volatilisation, comparable to microwave pyrolysis using inert gases. It is shown that the new concept works effectively with both microwave-transparent and microwave-absorbent solvents. The liquid media also acts to eliminate arcing and prevent carbonaceous residues from forming, phenomena which have so far proved challenging for the scale-up of microwave pyrolysis processes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:28:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-53974 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:28:44Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-539742019-07-10T04:30:16Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53974/ Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium Shepherd, B.J. Ryan, J. Adam, M. Beneroso Vallejo, D. Castaño, P. Kostas, E.T. Robinson, J.P. A new approach to pyrolysis is demonstrated that uses microwave heating combined with an external liquid media at atmospheric pressure. The liquid acts as the inerting medium instead of the traditional inert gas, and also acts as a heat-sink to maintain the external temperature at the normal boiling point of the liquid. The ability to regulate the external temperature using a liquid offers significant advantages over established pyrolysis technologies and is only possible due to the selective and volumetric heating that occurs with microwaves. The new concept overcomes many of the challenges encountered in traditional and gas-based microwave pyrolysis processes, producing a bio-oil that naturally partitions into a sugar-rich aqueous phase and a phenol-rich organic phase. Energy requirements are as low as 2 kJ/g for 50% volatilisation, comparable to microwave pyrolysis using inert gases. It is shown that the new concept works effectively with both microwave-transparent and microwave-absorbent solvents. The liquid media also acts to eliminate arcing and prevent carbonaceous residues from forming, phenomena which have so far proved challenging for the scale-up of microwave pyrolysis processes. Elsevier 2018-09-30 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by_nc_nd https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53974/1/Shepherd_et_al_2018%20unmarked.pdf Shepherd, B.J., Ryan, J., Adam, M., Beneroso Vallejo, D., Castaño, P., Kostas, E.T. and Robinson, J.P. (2018) Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 134 . pp. 381-388. ISSN 0165-2370 Microwave pyrolysis; Sycamore; Liquid inerted medium; Bio-oil https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165237018302985?via%3Dihub doi:10.1016/j.jaap.2018.07.004 doi:10.1016/j.jaap.2018.07.004 |
| spellingShingle | Microwave pyrolysis; Sycamore; Liquid inerted medium; Bio-oil Shepherd, B.J. Ryan, J. Adam, M. Beneroso Vallejo, D. Castaño, P. Kostas, E.T. Robinson, J.P. Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| title | Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| title_full | Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| title_fullStr | Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| title_short | Microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| title_sort | microwave pyrolysis of biomass within a liquid medium |
| topic | Microwave pyrolysis; Sycamore; Liquid inerted medium; Bio-oil |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53974/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53974/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/53974/ |