The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amounts of various pyrolysis
products (gases, water, tar and charcoal) from three biomasses (wood, cocon
ut shell and straw) and to suggest a kinetic equation for the thermal crack
ing of tar at temperatures varying from 400 to 900 degreesC. From the resul
ts, a comparative analysis is done for the biomasses, and a kinetic model o
f thermal cracking of tar is proposed for a residence time ranging from zer
o to 4s. This can be applied to the purification of gasification gases used
as a feed gas to a combustion engine, and so contributes to the design of
gasifiers. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.