Influence of torrefaction pretreatment on the pyrolysis of Eucalyptus clone: A study on kinetics, reaction mechanism and heat flow

The adverse nature of biomass requires specific pretreatment processes to better utilize it in bioenergy applications, and torrefaction is one of the most recognized thermal pretreatment methods. In this regard, we studied the effect of torrefaction pretreatment on kinetics, reaction mechanism and heat flow during the pyrolysis of biomass by making a comparative analysis between the pyrolysis of dried and torrefied Eucalyptus wood. Torrefied biomass was produced at three temperatures, namely 250, 275 and 300 °C. Pyrolysis was performed at 700 °C. The char yield during pyrolysis increased from 22.39 percent to 36.34 percent when the torrefaction temperature was increased from 250 to 300 °C. Kinetic analysis showed that torrefied biomass has higher activation energy values than dried biomass. The reported activation energy values for dried biomass were within the range of 165–185 kJ/mol, and for the biomass torrefied at 300 °C they were within the range of 180–245 kJ/mol. We used two different approaches, namely master plots and kinetic compensation parameters, to identify the reaction mechanism. The results showed that torrefaction treatment had an effect on the reaction mechanism of the biomass pyrolysis. The reason could be the degradation of hemicellulose during torrefaction, and thereby the formation of smaller molecules during the pyrolysis of torrefied biomass. The heat flow data from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that pyrolysis started with exothermic reactions for dried samples, and endothermic reactions for torrefied samples. The results presented provide valuable insights into increasing the understanding of the pyrolysis of torrefied biomass.