[TG-FTIR study on pyrolysis of wheat-straw with abundant CaO additives]

Biomass pyrolysis in presence of abundant CaO additives is a fundamental process prior to CaO sorption enhanced gasification in biomass-based zero emission system. In the present study, thermogravimetric Fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) analysis was adopted to examine the effects of CaO additives on the mass loss process and volatiles evolution of wheat-straw pyrolysis. Observations from TG and FTIR analyses simultaneously demonstrated a two-stage process for CaO catalyzed wheat-straw pyrolysis, different from the single stage process for pure wheat-straw pyrolysis. CaO additives could not only absorb the released CO2 but also reduce the yields of tar species such as toluene, phenol, and formic acid in the first stage, resulting in decreased mass loss and maximum mass loss rate in this stage with an increase in CaO addition. The second stage was attributed to the CaCO3 decomposition and the mass loss and maximum mass loss rate increased with increasing amount of CaO additives. The results of the present study demonstrated the great potential of CaO additives to capture CO2 and reduce tars yields in biomass-based zero emission system. The gasification temperature in the system should be lowered down to avoid CaCO3 decomposition.