Do the interactions between biomass organic components and alkali metal ions affect pyrolysis liquid composition? A case study on Arundo donax

Chemical characterization of pyrolysis liquids is fundamental in order to investigate their reactivity in view of the exploitation of their energetic content as well as for their suppression when they represent an undesired product in biomass gasification processes. In this paper the influence of feedstock composition (organic and inorganic matrix) on the products yields and the liquid phase composition deriving from a slow steam assisted pyrolysis process was studied. To this aim slow steam assisted pyrolysis tests at 5 K/min and final temperature equal to 973 K were carried out on cellulose (pure and doped with Na and K ions), on a biomass model mixture of cellulose, xylan and lignin alkali (Mix XCL) and on Arundo donax canes, untreated, demineralized.