Volume 5, Issue 1 pp. 52-79
Review

A Critical Review on Hemicellulose Pyrolysis

Dr. Xiaowei Zhou

Dr. Xiaowei Zhou

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA

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Dr. Wenjun Li

Dr. Wenjun Li

Corporate Strategic Research, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, 1545 US Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ, 08801 USA

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Dr. Ross Mabon

Dr. Ross Mabon

Corporate Strategic Research, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, 1545 US Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ, 08801 USA

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Prof. Dr. Linda J. Broadbelt

Corresponding Author

Prof. Dr. Linda J. Broadbelt

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA

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First published: 02 August 2016
Citations: 319

Abstract

Fast pyrolysis is a promising thermochemical technology that breaks down renewable and abundant lignocellulosic biomass into a primary liquid product (bio-oil) in seconds. The bio-oil can then be potentially catalytically upgraded into transportation fuels and multiple commodity chemicals. Hemicellulose is one of the three major components of lignocellulosic biomass and is characterized as a group of cell wall polysaccharides that are neither cellulose nor pectin. The composition and structural features of hemicellulose (mixture of different heterogeneous polysaccharides) and different specific hemicellulose polysaccharides are reviewed. Particular focus is then given to reviewing the status of hemicellulose pyrolysis in terms of experimental investigations, reaction mechanisms, and kinetic modeling. For each aspect, recent results, challenges, and future prospects are addressed.

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