Formation and Degradation Pathways of Intermediate Products Formed during the Hydropyrolysis of Glucose as a Model Substance for Wet Biomass in a Tubular Reactor

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Abstract
In this study, glucose as a model substance for cellulose is pyrolyzed in supercritical water. The experiments are conducted in a continuously operated tubular reactor. From the usage of model substances, key information on the degradation pathway of biomass in supercritical water can be obtained. With this knowledge, it is tried to optimize a new method for gasification of wet biomass considering high yields of hydrogen and methane and also the suppressing of tar and char formation. The gaseous products mainly contain hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and a small amount of carbon monoxide. The effect of experimental conditions, such as pressure, temperature and reaction time, on the degradation of glucose is investigated in the experiments. The qualitative and quantitative composition of the gas and liquid phases formed are determined. The results show that only the amount of phenols increases with increasing temperature in the liquid phase. No complete gasification of glucose is achieved in the studied temperature range between 400 °C and 500 °C. The addition of alkali salts leads to a higher gas generation and to a decrease in carbon monoxide concentration via water‐gas‐shift reaction. A lower furfural concentration is obtained in the presence of KHCO3. Furthermore, this study shows that there is a wide conformity between the results of real and model biomass. A simplified scheme for glucose degradation is also presented with the help of the results found.