ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF HYDROGEN PRESSURE ON BIOMASS PYROLYSIS -A STUDY OF EUPHORBIA-RIGIDA, SUNFLOWER OIL, INDUSTRIAL-WASTE AND PURECELLULOSE

To assess the effects of mass transfer and hydrogen pressure on the oi l yield and quality from cellulosic biomass, fixed-bed pyrolysis (atmo spheric pressure) and hydropyrolysis experiments at temperatures betwe en 400 and 650 degrees C have been conducted on sunflower bagasse and pure cellulose. The Euphorbia Rigida was extracted with n-hexane and m ethanol to remove low molecular mass terpenoids and saccharides so as to elucidate the extent of oil formation and aromatisation from the ce llulosic structure. In contrast to coals and oil shales, oil yields fr om the sunflower bagasse were found to be largely independent of parti cle size (<1.8 mm) and sweep gas velocity with ca 35-40% w/w oil (dry basis) being obtained at 450-500 degrees C. The use of high hydrogen p ressures (> 50 bar) only gave rise to relatively small increases in oi l yield but, expressed on a carbon basis, these increases are much gre ater due to the reduced the oxygen contents of the oils.