Microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis of biomass residues: Conceptualization, reactor scale-up and impact assessments by Professor Xiaotao (Tony) Bi

Biomass residues are low-carbon renewable energy sources and have the potential to replace fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thermochemical pathways such as gasification and pyrolysis have been applied to convert biomass into drop-in biofuels, but still face both technical and economic challenges. Among the technical challenges is the poor quality of intermediates, e.g. bio-oil, for upgrading. Novel methods have been explored to improve the quality of intermediates, such as catalytic pyrolysis and plasma/microwave-assisted pyrolysis in fluidized bed reactors. A continuously operated fluidize bed reactor for biomass catalytic pyrolysis needs to address two major challenges: stable fluidization of irregular biomass particles and narrow particle residence time distribution for uniform biochar product. 

This talk will give an overview on the development of a novel gas-pulsating fluidized bed reactor for biomass torrefaction, and catalytic pyrolysis with the assistance of microwave heating for converting biomass to high-quality bio-oil and biochar. The economic and environmental impacts and benefits of those bioenergy conversion pathways will also be discussed based on life cycle analysis and techno-economic 

Biography Dr. Bi is a full professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia. He is a Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering and Engineering Canada. 

His current research has been focused on development of fluidized bed reactors for biomass gasification and catalytic pyrolysis, life cycle analysis and integrated assessments of bioenergy systems. He has published 450+ peer-reviewed journal papers with a Google H-Index of 87. He was the recipient of a number of awards including the AIChE Particle Technology Forum Lectureship Award (2012), CSChE Industrial Practice Award (2020), BC Bioenergy Sector Award (2022) and International Fluidization Achievement Award (2024).