Kinetic Modeling of Biomass Pyrolysis Processes (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is a viable route for producing biofuels and value-added chemicals. A key issue for effective design and operation of the conversion units is the accurate knowledge of the decomposition kinetics. These are to be coupled with the description of transport phenomena to develop advanced computational tools for selecting optimal design and operating conditions. However, the yield and quality of the products are primarily determined by the chemical composition of the feedstock material. In the kinetic analysis, major issues arise from the multicomponent nature of lignocellulosics. The content and nature of the three structural components, namely cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, are greatly variable, even within the same plant species, and significant quantities of non-structural components and inorganics may also be present.

The evaluation of pyrolysis or devolatilization kinetics is based on the analysis of experimental data about weight loss characteristics and chemical species formation rates, measured under different thermal conditions and interpreted by means of various modelling approaches (e.g., model-fitting, model-free, DAEM, and analytical). In general, the weight-loss dynamics are determined by the decomposition of the macro-components, but significant overlap, enhanced by the mutual interactions and influences of minor organic and inorganic components, does not allow the different contributions to be precisely identified. Although analyzing the behaviour of isolated components can be useful for identifying the different contributions to devolatilization dynamics, the extraction methods might significantly modify their chemical structure and, consequently, their thermal stability. These issues further complicate the inherent challenges associated with the need to establish kinetic control for measurements, for instance, by means of thermogravimetric systems (TGAs).

Due to the points outlined above, large variations are found in the literature for the kinetic parameters, especially the activation energy, even for the biomass macro-components and standard feedstocks, thus motivating the needed for further research efforts. In this framework, this Special Issue on “Kinetic Modeling of Biomass Pyrolysis Processes (2nd Edition)” aims to collect original studies focussed on determining the intrinsic kinetics of general validity for biomass pyrolysis, accounting for the effects of peculiar chemical compositions, catalysts, pre-treatments, etc.

• The topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Innovative approaches in kinetic modelling of lignocellulosic materials.
• Thermal degradation kinetics of lignocellulosic biomass macro-components.
• Devolatilization behaviour and kinetics of agricultural residues and aquatic biomass.
• Effects of pretreatments on the thermal degradation kinetics of biomass.

Dr. Carmen Branca
Prof. Dr. Antonio Galgano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biomass
• pyrolysis
• devolatilization
• cellulose
• hemicellulose
• lignin
• reaction kinetics
• thermogravimetry
• modelling
• parametric estimation