Composition of gas produced from the direct combustion and pyrolysis of biomass

Biomass is considered to be one of the most easily available and high-potential renewable power sources. Pyrolysis and combustion are the most common ways of utilizing biomass. A complex multiple-criteria analysis to identify the most promising technology of using various types of biomass has never been previously performed. The study is focused on comparing two typical techniques of utilizing agricultural and forestry biomass for bioenergy and valorization. In this paper, the direct combustion and pyrolysis of biomass were experimentally studied. The environmental and energy performance parameter of the investigated processes were determined for separate biomass components (leaves, straw, sawdust) and a group of mixtures from them. It was established that the biomass mixtures combustion has better environmental characteristics. Thus, the main anthropogenic emissions decreased by 8-66%. In addition to that, the pyrolysis of a biomass mixture from a group of components has a 30% higher yield of combustible gases. The analysis of relative efficiency indicators of two processes where biomass was used as an energy resource showed that a biomass-derived composite fuel is more efficient than its individual components. (c) 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.