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Cited by 75Thermochemical Biomass Conversion ProcessesMining and Gasification TechnologiesCoal and Coke Industries Research

Effects of Pyrolysis Conditions and Feedstocks on the Properties and Gasification Reactivity of Charcoal from Woodchips

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Phounglamcheik, Aekjuthon, Wang, Liang, Romar, Henrik, Kienzl, Norbert, Broström, Markus, Ramser, Kerstin, Skreiberg, Øyvind, Umeki, Kentaro·2020·Energy & Fuels
DOI 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c00592
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Abstract

Pyrolysis conditions in charcoal production affect yields, properties, and further use of charcoal. Reactivity is a critical property when using charcoal as an alternative to fossil coal and coke, as fuel or reductant, in different industrial processes. This work aimed to obtain a holistic understanding of the effects of pyrolysis conditions on the reactivity of charcoal. Notably, this study focuses on the complex effects that appear when producing charcoal from large biomass particles in comparison with the literature on pulverized biomass. Charcoals were produced from woodchips under a variety of pyrolysis conditions (heating rate, temperature, reaction gas, type of biomass, and bio-oil embedding). Gasification reactivity of produced charcoal was determined through thermogravimetric analysis under isothermal conditions of 850 °C and 20% of CO2. The charcoals were characterized for the elemental composition, specific surface area, pore volume and distribution, and carbon structure. The analysis results were used to elucidate the relationship between the pyrolysis conditions and the reactivity. Heating rate and temperature were the most influential pyrolysis parameters affecting charcoal reactivity, followed by the reaction gas and bio-oil embedding. The effects of these pyrolysis conditions on charcoal reactivity could primarily be explained by the difference in the meso- and macropore volume and the size and structural order of aromatic clusters. The lower reactivity of slow pyrolysis charcoals also coincided with their lower catalytic inorganic content. The reactivity difference between spruce and birch charcoals appears to be mainly caused by the difference in catalytically active inorganic elements. Contrary to pyrolysis of pulverized biomass, a low heating rate produced a higher specific surface area compared with a high heating rate. Furthermore, the porous structure and the reactivity of charcoal produced from woodchips were influenced when the secondary char formation was promoted, which cannot be observed in pyrolysis of pulverized biomass.

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  • High pyrolysis temperatures and BRT reduce VC and reactivity.

    “High pyrolysis temperatures and BRT reduce VC and reactivity [79,108,109].”

    From Pilot-Scale Slow Pyrolysis, Post-Heat Treatment, and Self-Heating Performance of Biochar Fuels Derived from Construction, Renovation, and Demolition (CRD) Wood Waste (2026) · cites this paper as [109]

    The Conclusions report that increasing pyrolysis temperature produced less-reactive charcoal through greater devolatilization, and that slow heating produced less-reactive charcoal. The Introduction says low-heating-rate charcoal has lower volatile content, but the paper does not establish that increasing BRT itself reduces both volatile content and reactivity; its comparison is primarily between heating rates. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Authors
Phounglamcheik, A., Wang, L., Romar, H., Kienzl, N., Broström, M., Ramser, K., Skreiberg, Ø., & Umeki, K.
Affiliations
  • Luleå University of Technology (SE)
  • SINTEF Energy Research (NO)
  • University of Oulu (FI)
  • BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies (Austria) (AT)
  • Umeå University , , ,
Corresponding author
Phounglamcheik, Aekjuthon
ORCID
Venue
Energy & Fuels
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Published
2020-05-26
Volume
34
Issue
7
Pages
8353-8365
ISSN
  • 0887-0624 (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5029
DOI
10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c00592
OpenAlex
W3032863923
Cited by
75
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 1
FWCI
2.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Energy & Fuels (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DiVA at Umeå University (Umeå University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Energimyndigheten (P46974-1)
  • Norges Forskningsråd (NA)
  • Kempestiftelserna (NA)
  • European Regional Development Fund (20200224)
  • Region Västerbotten (20200585)
  • Bio4Energy (NA)
  • Region Norrbotten (NA)
  • Swedish Centre for Biomass Gasification (NA)
  • Swedish National Strategic Research Environment (NA)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Mining and Gasification Technologies
  • Physical Sciences › Energy › Fuel Technology › Coal and Coke Industries Research
Keywords
charcoal, wood chips, pyrolysis conditions, gasification reactivity, heating rate, pyrolysis temperature, porous structure, specific surface area, pore volume, aromatic clusters, spruce, birch, biomass fuel, reducing agents

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