Change of pyrolysis characteristics and structure of woody biomass due to steam explosion pretreatment

Steam explosion (SE) pretreatment has been implemented for the production of wood pellet. This paper investigated changes in biomass structure due to implication of steam explosion process by its pyrolysis behavior/characteristics. Salix wood chip was treated by SE at different pretreatment conditions, and then pyrolysis characteristic was examined by thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) at heating rate of 10 K/min. Both pyrolysis characteristics and structure of biomass were altered due to SE pretreatment. Hemicellulose decomposition region shifted to low temperature range due to the depolymerization caused by SE pretreatment. The peak intensities of cellulose decreased at mild pretreatment condition while they increased at severe conditions. Lignin reactivity also increased due to SE pretreatment. However, severe pretreatment condition resulted in reduction of lignin reactivity due to condensation and re-polymerization reaction. In summary, higher pretreatment temperature provided more active biomass compared with milder pretreatment conditions.