Increasing bio-oil yield and quality in fast pyrolysis of ash-rich forest residues through novel in-situ ash management

Fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass constitutes a promising technology to reduce the Swedish dependence on fossil fuels for transportation. Commercial pyrolysis installations based on ash-lean sawdust (e.g., the one now built by Pyrocell) have reached a TRL of 8-9. Fast pyrolysis of more abundant and ash-rich residual biomass streams, such as bark and forest residues, is currently at a significantly lower TRL. This is mainly due that a high ash content in the biomass feedstock leads to lower fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO) production yield and quality.
This project will, therefore, develop efficient countermeasures, i.e., ash related management concepts, to increase the bio-oil yield and quality in fast pyrolysis of ash-rich forest residues. This can enable the use of feedstocks of lower grades such as forest residues, thus broadening the feedstock base, and reduce the production costs, thereby increasing the implementation of FPBO in Sweden’s biofuel production chain.

The project is a collaborating project between KTH, LTU, Pyrocell and BTG-Bioliq