Microwave‐assisted pyrolysis of pine wood sawdust mixed with activated carbon for bio‐oil and bio‐char production

Abstract

Pyrolysis of pine wood sawdust was carried out using microwave‐heating technology in the presence of activated carbon (AC). Experimental conditions were of 20 min processing time, 10 wt.% of AC, and a microwave power varying from 100 to 800 W. The results obtained showed that the microwave absorber allowed increasing the bio‐oil yield up to 2 folds by reducing the charcoal fraction. The maximum temperature reached was 505 °C at 800 W. The higher heating values (HHV) of the solid residues ranged from 17.6 to 30.3 MJ/kg. The highest HHV was obtained for the sample heated at 800 W with 10 wt.% of AC, which was 33% higher than the non‐charged sample heated at the same power. Furthermore, the addition of AC allowed showing the probable catalytic effect of the AC in the charged sample pyrolysis bio‐oils.