K-looping catalytic pyrolysis of unaltered and pelletized biomass for in situ tar reduction and porous carbon production

Abstract

This paper studies the K-catalyzed pyrolysis of rice husk (RH) and its pelleted form (RHP) at a higher temperature (750 °C) for in situ tar reduction and porous carbon production. The mass ratio of KOH and biomass greatly affected the physicochemical property of bio-char. During carbonization with KOH, the in situ generated K₂CO₃ tailored the morphology and size of the self-templated SiO₂, giving rise to RH-chars with open foam-like porous architecture enrich with micro- and meso-pores. KOH activation via this one-step pyrolysis could produce highly porous carbons (e.g., RH-char 1, RH-char 2, and RHP-char 1) with highly specific surface areas and high content of oxygen that have promising potential applications in energy storage and adsorption processes.