Distinguishing primary and secondary reactions of cellulose pyrolysis
Pushkaraj R Patwardhan1, Dustin L Dalluge, Brent H Shanks
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, United States.
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to elucidate primary and secondary reactions of cellulose pyrolysis, which was accomplished by comparing results from a micro-pyrolyzer coupled to a GC-MS/FID system and a 100 g/hr bench scale fluidized bed reactor system. The residence time of vapors in the micro-pyrolyzer was only 15-20 ms, which precluded significant secondary reactions. The fluidized bed reactor had a vapor residence time of 1-2 s, which is similar to full-scale pyrolysis systems and is long enough for secondary reactions to occur. Products from the fluidized bed pyrolyzer reactor were analyzed using a combination of micro-GC, GC-MS/FID, LC-MS and IC techniques. Comparison between the products from the two reactor systems revealed that the oligomerization of leglucosan and decomposition of primary products such as 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, anhydro xylopyranose and 2-furaldehyde were the major secondary reactions occurring in the fluidized bed reactor. This study can be used to build more descriptive pyrolysis models that can predict yield of specific compounds.
Related Concept Videos
Cellulose and Pectic Polysaccharides
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the parenchyma cells of...
Oxidation of Alcohols
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:
Preparation of Diols and Pinacol Rearrangement
The reaction begins with transferring a proton from the acid catalyst to one of the hydroxyl groups, producing an oxonium ion.
Pericyclic Reactions: Introduction
Pericyclic reactions can be classified into three categories: electrocyclic reactions, cycloaddition reactions, and sigmatropic rearrangements. Electrocyclic reactions and sigmatropic rearrangements are...
Thermal and Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Overview
Thermal Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Thermal Activation
Conjugated systems containing an even number of π-electron pairs undergo a conrotatory ring closure. For example, thermal electrocyclization of (2E,4E)-2,4-hexadiene, a conjugated diene containing two π-electron pairs, gives trans-3,4-dimethylcyclobutene.


