Calcium-catalyzed pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass components.

The present study examines the effect of calcium pretreatment on pyrolysis of individual lignocellulosic compounds. Previous work has demonstrated that the incorporation of calcium compounds with the feedstock prior to pyrolysis has a significant effect on the oxygen content and stability of the resulting oil. The aim of this work was to further explore the chemistry of calcium-catalyzed pyrolysis.

Formate assisted pyrolysis of pine sawdust for in-situ oxygen removal and stabilization of bio-oil.

Pine sawdust was pretreated with several calcium compounds and then pyrolyzed in a fluidized bed pyrolysis reactor at 500 °C. The catalytic action of the calcium compounds varies depending on the anion. Analysis of pyrolysis gas, liquid and char yields and compositions demonstrates that calcium sulfate is inert during pyrolysis while calcium formate, carbonate, hydroxide and oxide show significant deoxygenation activity.

Intrinsic property measurement of surfactant-templated mesoporous silica films using time-resolved single-molecule imaging.

Mesoporous silica membranes fabricated by the surfactant-templated sol-gel process have received attention because of the potential to prepare membranes with a narrow pore size distribution and ordering of the interconnected pores. Potential applications include ultrafiltration, biological separations and drug delivery, and separators in lithium-ion batteries. Despite advancements in synthesis and characterization of these membranes, a quantitative description of the membrane microstructure remains a challenge.