Advances in the Pyrolysis Process and the Generation of Bioenergy

Abstract

The reduction of environmental impacts caused by emissions of greenhouse gases has become an internationalized goal. In this context the development of technologies capable of producing energy from clean or renewable sources has gained broad prominence, among them the fast pyrolysis is a type of thermochemical process capable of converting biomass and agroindustrial waste into a liquid product called bio-oil that has a wide range of applications in the bioenergy scenario. For this type of technology to be consolidated as an alternative source of renewable energy, economic, political and environmental incentives are necessary, as well as research development to improve the conversion processes, such as reactor types, logistics in obtaining and pre-treating potential biomass, improvement and conversion routes for bio-oil obtained in renewable biofuels or chemicals with higher added value. This chapter covers the fundamentals of thermal conversion of biomass into bio-oil and the most studied processes to convert bio-oil into a product with better properties, such as deoxygenation and energy densification.