Pyrolysis of Marine Biomass in a Fixed-Bed Reactor

A thermochemical platform including a pyrolysis reaction is an attractive promising biomass conversion process since utilization of biomass is not limited comparing with other biochemical processes. The quantitative and qualitative efficiency of the pyrolysis process under anaerobic conditions relies on biomass types as well as process parameters such as heating rates, reactor types and mass loading. Therefore, a study on thermal characteristics of diverse biomass under different conditions is the first stage to study feasibility for application of pyrolysis systems and their products. In this study, we investigated the pyrolytic characteristics of the green (Ulva sp.), brown (Laminaria sp. and Sargassum sp.) and red (Gelidium sp.) seaweed and obtaind py-products from the seaweed biomass using a fixed-bed pyrolysis reactor. The thermal decomposition characteristics of the seaweed biomass were explored through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) with differential thermal analysis (DTA). The chemical characteristics of py-products in three phases: oil, char and gas obtained under different process conditions were analyzed using GC/MS and FT-IR.