Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass for liquid biofuels production

Production of 2nd-generation biofuels from biomass residues and waste feedstock is gaining great concerns worldwide. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical conversion process involving rapid heating of feedstock under oxygen-absent condition to moderate temperature and rapid quenching of intermediate products, is an attractive way for bio-oil production. Various efforts have been made to improve pyrolysis process towards higher yield and quality of liquid biofuels and better energy efficiency. Microwave-assisted pyrolysis is one of the promising attempts, mainly due to efficient heating of feedstock by “microwave dielectric heating” effects. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass. First, conventional fast pyrolysis and microwave dielectric heating is briefly introduced. Then microwave-assisted pyrolysis process is thoroughly discussed stepwise from biomass pretreatment to bio-oil collection. The existing efforts are summarized in a table, providing a handy overview of the activities (e.g., feedstock and pretreatment, reactor/pyrolysis conditions) and findings (e.g., pyrolysis products) of various investigations.