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TOPIC- PYROLYSIS

PYROLYSIS
 Pyrolysis is drived by greek word which means “FireSeprating
“.The pyrolysis (or devolatilization) process is the thermal
decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert
atmosphere It involves a change of chemical composition. Generally,
substances that are subjected to pyrolysis undergo a chemical
decomposition reaction and break down into multiple product
compounds.
 Process of pyrolysis is widely use in breaking down of organic
substances. For example charring of wood wich result in formation of
charcoal.

What is Pyrolysis? Meaning, Detailed Explanation, Examples

(byjus.com)

PYROLYSIS MECHANISM
Pyrolysis typically involves covalent bond dissociation and
rearrangement, which takes place between 300°C and 800°C for most
hydrocarbons. The mechanism may range from simple to very complex,
depending upon the nature of the precursor. For example, methane can
yield some carbon species along with hydrogen slightly above the
temperature where its energy of formation becomes positive. A polymer,
on the other hand, may exhibit complicated fragmentation patterns with
parallel secondary and tertiary reactions and release volatile byproducts.

TYPE OF PYROLYSIS

1. DRY DISTILLATION
Dry distillation refers to the process of heating solid materials in order to
produce different gaseous products.

2. SLOW PYROLYSIS
Its refers to the slow heating of different organic materials where there is
no oxygen. Slow pyrolysis is also known as carbonization.

3. MICROWAVE PYROLYSIS
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Microwave pyrolysis is also referred to as the microwave-assisted

pyrolysis. It’s a major process involving microwave dielectric heating.
This is like how your food is heated using a microwave. The entire
process is spearheaded by flipping the orientation of the microwave’s
dipoles using the material that’s in the process of being heated. In many
cases, microwave pyrolysis is often attractive, especially for heating.

4. FLASHPYROLYSIS
Flash pyrolysis refers to a process of thermal cracking, which usually
occurs when the material is subjected to high temperatures of heating
using a short vapor residence time. This is often used in the process of
minimizing the secondary cracking n order to keep the secondary
cracking. This plays a role in assisting you to keep the liquid yields pretty
high.
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5. ABLATIVE PYROLYSIS
Ablative pyrolysis is a process that entails the transfer of heat from a
reactor wall to the feedstock. The process ensures that the walls are
heated. A significant volume of feedstock particles can easily be
pyrolyzed in the process. This is solely appended to the fact that the
reaction rates won’t be impacted by the heat transfer even if biomass is
used. With that said, the pyrolyzers help in ensuring that there’s high
relative motion found in between the high-pressure particles and the hot
reactor wall.

6. Take-Home
Pyrolysis is a viable process used in the decomposition of waste materials
to produce energy in many ways. Towards that end, there are different
pyrolysis processes that an individual can use in various cases. They have
been highlighted in this article to offer guidance to people who are
interested in knowing more about the process

What Are Some Of The Types Of Pyrolysis? - Deliver Useful Industrial Information
(enginewheel.com).

PYROLYSIS USE IN NANO MATERIALS

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Pyrolysis is the key process in carbon nanomaterial synthesis , bulk

carbon production, fabrication of carbon-based devices, fuel generation
from organic waste and molecule fragmentation for their analysis via gas
chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) . Primary examples of the
technologically significant carbon materials prepared via pyrolysis
include graphene , carbon nanotubes (CNTs) , carbon fibers (CFs) ,
diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings and other industrial carbons such as
glass-like carbon (GC) and graphite

CLASSIFICATION OF PYROLYSIS
PROCESS

Pyrolysis can be classified based on (i) the phase of precursor, (ii) scale
of reaction (which determines the type of reactor) and (iii) target
product(s)

As shown in table  Based on the precursor First type of classification,

pyrolysis can be classified into solid, liquid and gas phase. Solid phase
pyrolysis primarily utilizes synthetic and natural polymers , solid
petrochemicals such as coals and cokes and hydrocarbons of mixed
compositions such as] or municipal solid waste (MSW).

Production of mesophase carbons and the production of CF by pyrolysis

of petroleum pitches and naphthenic residues comes under liquid phase
pyrolysis

 Gas phase pyrolysis relies on the principle of cracking a hydrocarbon gas

such as methane or acetylene at sufficiently high temperatures followed
by the collection of solid carbon deposits onto a substrate. As the
precursor is present in gas (vapor) phase, this entire process (pyrolysis
followed by material deposition and film growth) is known as the CVD.
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CVD is a more general term that is also applicable to various other

chemicals that yield non-carbon element or compound deposits. In the
case of carbon materials, however, the precursor gas is essentially a
hydrocarbon, and hence, the fundamental process responsible for the
CVD is pyrolysis.

The second type of classification is based on the reaction scale and

reactor type/size. Laboratory scale heat-treatment can be performed in a
tube furnace, small reactors or chambers that can facilitate a controlled
environment In some cases, the size of the precursor sample may be
extremely small (micro or even nano-gram scale), for example, in the
case of analytical pyrolysis used for fossils, and in situ pyrolysis
investigations performed on a transmission electron microscope (TEM).
Here, the pyrolysis chamber is associated with another instrument, that
may entail specially designed chips, wires or customized sample holders.
Industrial pyrolysis is either used for large-scale carbon material
production or for the purpose of waste treatment.

 Based on the Third type of classification target product, pyrolysis can

be divided into three main classes: (i) carbon production, (ii) pyrolysis
oil and synthetic gas production and (iii) hydrocarbon fragmentation
for analytical purposes. Carbon production can be further divided into
synthesis of nanomaterials, preparation of large-scale industrial carbons
and carbon-conversion of polymer structures intended for device
application.

APPLICATIONS OF PYROLYSIS
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schematic representation of classification of applications of pyrolysis into

four major areas: (A) carbon material production, (B) fabrication of
carbon-micro nano devices, (C) chemical analysis of unknown samples
by Py-GC–MS, (D) treatment of waste. CNF, carbon nanofibers;
HOPG, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

Table 1:
Typical temperature range and other parameters pertaining to different
applications of pyrolysis
S. Application Pyrolysis Target product and remarks
No area conditions

1. Carbon material 600–1200°C, Carbon nanomaterials by

production deposition on CVD (Graphene, CNT, VGCF)
catalytic substrate
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S. Application Pyrolysis Target product and remarks

No area conditions

350–600°C, in the DLC coatings by PECVD

presence of
plasma

900–2800°C Spun CFs; graphitic content in

fibers is enhanced at high
temperatures

2500–3000°C Highly oriented pyrolytic

graphite (HOPG) can also be
prepared at lower
temperatures under stress;
precursor: pyrolytic graphite

2000–3000°C Bulk GC; lower temperatures

yield material with lower purity

900–1000°C Porous carbons that can be

further activated

500–1000°C Mesophase carbons (pitch

and coke pyrolysis)

2. Fabrication of 900–1100°C Precursors: high carbon

carbon-based containing, lithography
micro-nano compatible polymers
devices

3. Analytical 300–1000°C Fragmented hydrocarbons are

pyrolysis analyzed using Py-GC–MS

4. Waste treatment 400–500°C Almost equal proportion of

char, pyro-oil, and syngas are
obtained

500–700°C Pyro-oil, major product. Often

sold as an alternative fuel
(obtained from plastic waste)

>700°C Syngas, the major product