Validation of a numerical approach to model pyrolysis of biomass and assessment of kinetic data

The objective of this contribution is to introduce a numerical approach that predicts pyrolysis of various biomasses under various boundary conditions such as particle geometry and heating rate. Hence, the approach is applicable to numerical tools that help exploiting further the potential of biomass as an energy resource. Furthermore, it is intended to represent the general trend of state of the art in model developments. The presented model itself is based on one-dimensional and transient differential conservation equations for mass, momentum, species and energy. In order to account for a variety of reaction schemes a formulation based on the Arrhenius equation including intrinsic modelling is chosen. It is believed to represent the majority of kinetic pyrolysis data derived from experiments. Applying this single numerical approach to predict pyrolysis under varying experimental conditions for different materials always revealed good agreement with measurements. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.