Jessica Murillo

• Tennessee Technological University

Biomass pyrolysis is being developed to convert biomass into renewable energy to reduce fossil fuel dependency, yet little sociological research has been conducted on knowledge and attitudes toward the technology in rural southern communities. Our study involved participatory collaboration with conservationists, farmers and stakeholders in the Tenn...

Thermochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to renewable fuels and chemicals occurs through high temperature decomposition of the main structural components in plants, including cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose comprise mostly carbohydrates. In this study, two disaccharides, maltose and cellobiose, are used...

Biomass pyrolysis offers an opportunity to produce liquid transportation fuels and platform chemicals that may be effective in replacing the current petroleum feedstock. Before whole biomass can be converted to end-use products, many pre-processing steps are required, such as drying, grinding, and extracting. Thus, milling effects on particle size,...

While the reactions involved in plant biomass are somewhat understood, there are still unknowns, particularly regarding the details of the kinetic pathways. Furthermore, there are a wide range of biomass feedstocks presently being considered for which there is no kinetic information available. This work compares the pyrolysis of one legume (alfalfa...