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Comprehensive review on pyrolytic oil production, upgrading and its utilization

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Abstract

Utilization of fuel oil from biomass (i.e., bio-oil) reduces emission of greenhouse gases. This paper discusses the different pyrolyis processes, physiochemical properties of pyrolysis products, upgrading techniques for safe storage and application in transportation and industrial activities. The production of bio-oil is challenging and requires inclusion of modern technologies. Pyrolysis plays a key role in the production of solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels from biomass. About 60–65% yield of bio-oil produced through the pyrolysis process using fluidized bed reactor has been reported. Among the all pyrolysis technologies vacuum pyrolysis was found a well suitable not only for bio-oil production, but also for improving the physicochemical properties of biochar such as surface area, porosity (macro/micro), functional groups, etc. In bio-oil upgrading, catalytic cracking process was observed as a most promising technique for the upgrading of bio-crude in to liquid fuel. Pyrolysis based synthetic fuels are considered as one of the key to saving the potential greenhouse gas emission up to 60—80% as compared to fossil fuels.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Govt. of India for providing financial support for design and development of fast pyrolysis unit for bio-oil production from crop residues under Consortium Research Platform on energy from agriculture. The first author (Ashish Pawar) is also thankful to Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt. of India for providing research fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, College of Technology and Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 313001, India

    Ashish Pawar & N. L. Panwar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Technology and Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 313001, India

    B. L. Salvi

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  1. Ashish Pawar
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Correspondence to Ashish Pawar.

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Pawar, A., Panwar, N.L. & Salvi, B.L. Comprehensive review on pyrolytic oil production, upgrading and its utilization. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 22, 1712–1722 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-020-01063-w

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