Effects of base catalysis on the product distribution from pyrolysis of woody biomass in the presence of water

Previous work has shown that woody biomass can generate oil-like products during hydrous pyrolysis. However, the yield of extractable organic matter is rather small, and the proportion of coke is high. In order to increase the oil yield and decrease the coke generation, experiments with added base catalysts have been made. NaOH was chosen as the catalyst. Experimental design is used to investigate the effects of variable experimental conditions during pyrolysis. The results are compared with similar experiments without a catalyst, and show a general decrease in coke formation and increase in the extractable organic matter with a dominance of polar compounds. The variable with the largest effect on yields is the amount of water, while pyrolysis temperature and the amount of starting material have minor effects.