Pyrolysis reactions of Japanese cedar and Japanese beech woods in a closed ampoule reactor

The chemical structures of hemicellulose and lignin are different for two distinct types of wood, i.e., softwood and hardwood. Such differences are expected to affect pyrolysis behavior. In this article, the differences are discussed for Japanese cedar wood (a softwood) and Japanese beech wood (a hardwood) pyrolyzed in a closed ampoule reactor (N₂/600°C/40–600 s). Oven-dried samples were used to eliminate the influence of initial water. Demineralized samples (prepared by acid washing) were also used to determine the influence of the minerals contained in the wood samples. As a result, some features were disclosed for secondary char (coke) formation, char reactivity, tar formation, and subsequent decomposition.