The pyrolysis experiments were carried out on a bench-scale,
fixed-bed pyrolysis reactor made of stainless steel 316. The
reactor was heated by a three-zone furnace and was purged with
nitrogen to ensure an oxygen-free atmosphere. When the reactor
reached the desired pyrolysis temperature (measured with a thermocouple
inside the reactor), approximately 1.5 g of biomass
sample was injected in the hot reactor with the help of a piston. The
sample was pyrolyzed and the pyrolysis vapors were removed from
the reaction zone with the aid of nitrogen flow (100 cm3
/min). A
pre-weighed glass receiver, submerged in a cold liquid bath
(17 C), was connected at the exit of the reactor. The vapors
condensed in the receiver and formed the liquid product (bio-oil).
Solid (biomass residue) and gas products were collected and
measured as well. The heating rate of the biomass sample could not
be measured directly. As an indirect indication of the heating rate,
the formation of pyrolysis gases completely stopped within 120 s
after the introduction of the biomass in the reactor. To ensure
repeatability, the pyrolysis runs were carried out in triplicate for
each biomass sample and the average values are reported here.