New generalizable pyrolysis model for diverse wood biomass feedstocks

A generalizable pyrolysis model has been developed that accurately represents the kinetics of a broad range of wood biomass residues, including mixed wood waste and single-source wood feedstocks. The approach deconvolved derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) data of mixed wood waste into separate pseudo-component reaction rates of extractives, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin using Fraser–Suzuki deconvolution. Activation energies, pre-exponential factors, and reaction order models were then determined for each component based on the mixed wood waste samples. The model was validated using mixed wood, single-source wood (birch, oak, pine, and pine bark) and data from the literature (mixed forest residues, white oak, and willow). Using only the four-component compositions as input to the pyrolysis model, the results for mass conversion showed excellent agreement with the experimental data from the different feedstocks, with minimum R 2 > 0.988 for heating rates in the range of 5 to 20 °C/min without any changes to the kinetic parameters, i.e., without refitting or recalibration. The model provides a powerful new approach to accurately represent pyrolysis of different residues of wood waste.