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Because of accelerated urbanization and the development of a global economy, a large quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been collected and disposed of by the municipalities. Due to this drastic increase in the disposal of MSW, the need for its management is a must to preserve the environment. Currently, approximately 50% of the total MSW generated in the United States has been utilized through various recycling, combustion, and composting technologies, which means the remaining 50% is sent to landfill; this is often known as non-recyclable MSW (nMSW). As this nMSW is physically and chemically heterogenous and contains very high amounts of inorganic material, processing is required prior to using it as a biorefinery feedstock. Thus, this study focused on how mechanical preprocessing advanced the physical and chemical properties of nMSW. The physical and chemical properties were investigated in terms of particle size distribution, bulk density, ultimate and proximate analysis, and the higher heating value (HHV). The combustion properties were examined in terms of ignition temperature, peak heat release rate, and combustion efficiency. Results showed that the variability of physical and chemical properties of nMSW can be reduced by mechanical preprocessing. For example, the variability of the bulk density of the as-received nMSW was approximately 17.3% while it reduced to 5.8% when the sample size was reduced to 2 mm. Similarly, the variability of ash and HHV reduced from 49.2% to 11.0% and 13.4%–4.2%, respectively. Combustion thermograms showed that the size reduction positively improved the combustion properties. For example, 2 mm of spec sample started to ignite approximately 4 times earlier and took 6.5 folds less time to reach the peak heating rate compared to as-received nMSW. Overall, the mechanical preprocessing reduced the variability of physical and chemical properties in addition to the improvement of combustion behavior of the nMSW which is one step forward toward the biorefinery feedstock.

The properties of lignocellulosic biomass, such as bulk physical, thermal, and mechanical properties, as well as the mobility of enzymes or catalysts, are largely affected by porosity, pore structures, and pore size distribution. While X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been introduced to effectively produce 3D volumetric images of material microstructure, a quantitative porosity analysis from the 3D images has never been done. This work introduces a first-of-its-kind X-ray CT-based quantitative porosity analysis method and applies the developed toolkit to characterize the internal porosity distribution of loblolly pine. A sample loblolly pine chip was scanned by a nano-resolution X-ray CT system and digitally reconstructed after a sequence of image processing operations. A comprehensive porosity analysis was then performed to quantify the envelope porosity, the spatial distribution of local porosity, and the directional porosity. Solutions to the various challenges in image processing, porosity calculation, and large data handling are provided.

This work presents an experiment-informed, semi-empirical, elasto-plastic bond model for the discrete element modeling of woody biomass particles. The model renders nonlinear plastic deformation of materials when subjected to compression/tension, bending, and twisting, essential for accurately simulating the behavior of biomass in comminution. The model is implemented in an open-source DEM package LIGGGHTS and is assessed in a number of verification tests. The model is applied to simulate the fracturing test of notched loblolly pine blocks. Reduced bond strength is prescribed to the weak planes along the growth rings. It is found that the square-root formulation for describing the elasto-plastic normal bond contact delivers the best agreement with the experimental data over its linear and quadratic counterparts. Furthermore, the model predicts a strong anisotropic behavior of wood blocks with regard to the grain orientations, indicating that the cutting angle should be an important attribute for the optimization of biomass comminution.

Poor flowability of compressible biomass particles poses severe handling challenges in all processes of biorefineries, which results in poor energy-yielding in conversion. This paper presents the characterization of the flow behavior of a widely used compressible biomass material (ground loblolly pine) using a combination of physical characterization and numerical simulation. An advanced hypoplastic model with implementation and validation in Abaqus VUMAT is adopted. A workflow is established to calibrate material parameters directly from index tests, an oedometer test, and a Schulze ring shear test, and indirectly from numerical simulations of those tests. The finite element simulation of axial shear tests and hopper flow tests using the calibrated hypoplastic model is shown to capture key flow attributes, such as the maximum shear stress in shear tests, as well as the mass flow rate and flow pattern in hopper. The results demonstrate that a subset of the laboratory tests needs to allow large strains for adequate characterization of compressible granular flow, and numerical models developed for non-compressible materials can accurately predict the flow behavior of compressible biomass material, even though strain magnitudes are not scaled correctly. This study provides a potent tool to decipher and resolve material handling upsets in biorefineries and other energy industries that utilize forest products.

The design of handling equipment for granular biomass primarily requires experiments. Discrete element models (DEM) can provide designers with detailed insight into the behaviour of granular materials. However, granular biomass comprising complex-shaped particles is difficult to model with DEM. A tomography-informed DEM approach and an exhaustive assessment of the ability of the approach to predict the bulk behaviour of milled pines using experimental data is presented. Nano-CT scan was conducted to obtain 3D particle surface geometries as the basis for particle shape approximation by a polyhedral model and a sphero-polyhedral model. These models were applied in the simulation of a compressibility test. Our parametric study showed that particle Young's modulus and restitution coefficient are the two main properties influencing the simulated bulk behaviour of the DEM particles and that the level of approximating DEM particle shape for real particles is critical for accurately replicating the bulk behaviour of milled pines. The polyhedral model demonstrated better suitability than its sphero-polyhedral counterpart for modelling pine particles. The polyhedral model calibrated in a compressibility test was then applied in the simulations of a friction test without additional parameter tuning. Interlocking was dominant in the shear of bulk pine particles. Remarkably, the polyhedral model predicted the frictional behaviour of the pine particles when compared to the experimental results. The limitations of the model, as well as possible ways for enhancement, are discussed. This work provided novel insights into the suitability of complex-shaped DEM models for granular woody biomass.

Integrated biorefineries suffer from equipment down-time due to poor understanding of the flowability of biomass-derived feedstock. This work presents the characterization of the mechanical behavior of ground loblolly pine by combining physical experiments and numerical simulations. A modified Drucker-Prager/Cap (MDPC) model enhanced with density dependence is used for finite element modeling. Cyclic oedometer tests with increased magnitude of compressive stress and Schulze ring shear tests are performed to characterize material compressibility and shear behavior. The laboratory tests yield stress-strain curves, density-stress curves and Mohr-Coulomb shear envelopes, which are then used directly and indirectly to calibrate elasticity, as well as cap and shear failure parameters of the MDPC model. Full size 3D Schulze ring shear tests are modeled in Abaqus with calibrated model parameters, and the simulated Mohr-Coulomb envelops match well against experimental results, indicating the stress state within the shear band of the ring shear test is close to triaxial compression. The modeling results also show the MDPC model does not predict dilation followed by constant volume as observed by experiments. The mechanical behavior derived from the experiments and the methodology proposed for model calibration and stress state characterization provide a foundation for studying biomass flow behavior in material feeding and handling equipment.

Biomass is a renewable and sustainable energy resource. Current design of biomass handling and feeding equipment leverage both experiments and numerical modeling. This paper reviews the state-of-th...

The design of efficient material-handling systems for milled lignocellulosic biomass is challenging due to their complex particle morphologies and frictional interactions. Computational modeling, i...

Feedstock variability that originates from biomass production and field conditions propagates through the value chain, posing a significant challenge to the emerging biorefinery industry. Variability in feedstock properties impacts feeding, handling, equipment operations, and conversion performance. Feedstock quality attributes, and their variations, are often overlooked in assessing feedstock value and utilization for conversion to fuels, chemicals, and products. This study developed and employed a multiscale analytical characterization approach coupled with data analytic methods to better understand the sources and distribution of feedstock quality variability through evaluation of 24 corn stover bales collected in 4 counties of Iowa. In total, 216 core samples were generated by sampling nine positions on each bale using a reliable bale coring process. The samples were characterized for a broad suite of physicochemical properties ranging across field and bale, macro, micro, and molecular scales. Results demonstrated that feedstock quality attributes can vary at all spatial scales and that multiple sources of variability must be considered in order to establish and manage biomass quality for conversion processes.

Here, we report on the effects of loblolly pine residue variability on material throughput, pilot plant uptime, operator intervention, product yield, and product quality for grinding, fast pyrolysi...

The design of efficient lignocellulosic biomass feedstock systems is challenging, as current laboratory characterization and design methods were developed primarily for fine powders with relatively low compressibility. The discrete element method (DEM) is gaining prominence as an alternative method for modeling the bulk flow and transport of particulate materials in hoppers and feeders. However, prior DEM simulations investigating the flow of wood chips modeled the particles as simple rigid geometries such as spheres, rods or blocks, and neglected the effects of particle deformability and irregular shapes. As a consequence, those simplified DEM models may not provide enough key diagnosis to help improve the design of biomass feeding and handling equipment. This work presents a bonded-sphere DEM approach for characterizing the mechanical behavior of bulk flexible, deformable pinewood chips in a cyclic stress loading test. Clustered spheres that can bend and twist via elastic bonds are used to model irregular-shape particles in real pinewood chip samples. An axial compression tester, which contains 0.06 million bonded-sphere particles (1.35 million spheres) in a quarter cylinder, is simulated with a domain size similar to the experiments. With careful calibration, the simulations have delivered the bulk densities and the bulk moduli of elasticity that are in good agreement with those measured in the corresponding experiments. However, it is also been found challenging for the present DEM model to accurately predict the overall stress-strain behavior of bulk pinewood chips, especially the large sustained plastic deformation during unloading. Additional numerical tests have shown that the adjustment in certain contact parameters (e.g. bond stiffness) can lead to profound solution improvement, but meanwhile will induce extra challenges such as increased computing time. Future work will include an elasto-plastic particle bond model to enhance the simulation fidelity.

The amount of waste generation has been increasing with a significant amount being landfilled. These non-recyclable wastes contain large number of fiber and plastic wastes which can be treated with thermal processes to turn them into energy sources since they have high calorific values, are abundant and usually tipping fees are paid to handle them. This paper studied the torrefaction of non-recyclable paper (fiber) wastes, mixed plastic wastes (MPW) and their blends at different ratios in the temperature range of 250–400°C through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The solid residues after the experiments were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Significant synergy between fiber and MPW were observed at the range 250–300°C, showing both increase in the reaction rate as well as the overall mass loss. At 250°C, the maximum mass loss rate was more than two times higher and the mass loss at the end of the experiments were also much higher compared to the expected results. In addition, synergy was weakened with an increase of temperature, disappearing at 400°C. The existence of such interactions between fiber and plastic wastes indicates that the natural energy barriers during the individual torrefaction in paper waste or plastic waste could be bypassed, and the torrefaction of fiber and plastic blend can be achieved at lower temperatures and/or shorter residence times. The MPW and fiber wastes were also compounded by extrusion (to produce pellets) at 220°C with different blend ratios. The fiber-MPW pellets from extrusion were characterized by IR spectroscopy, rheology, thermal analysis and flexural properties and showed significant chemical changes from the non-extruded blends at the same ratios. From IR characterization, it was found that there was significant increase in hydroxyl (OH) group on account of the carbonyl (C = O) and etheric (C-O-C) groups. The interaction between paper and MPW can be attributed to the plastic polymers acting as a hydrogen donor during the reactive extrusion process. Synergistic effects were also found from mechanical and rheological properties.

Air classification (AC) is a cost-effective technology that separates the energy-dense light ash fraction (LAF) from the inorganic-rich high ash fraction (HAF) of corn stover. HAF could be upgraded into energy-dense solid fuel by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). However, HTC is a high-temperature, high-pressure process, which requires additional energy to operate. In this study, three different scenarios (i.e., AC only, HTC only, and integrated AC–HTC) were investigated for the energy recovery of corn stover. AC was performed on corn stover at an 8 Hz fan speed, which yielded 84.4 wt. % LAF, 12.8 wt. % HAF, and 2.8 wt. % below screen particles. About 27 wt. % ash was reduced from LAF by the AC process. Furthermore, HTC was performed on raw corn stover and the HAF of corn stover at 200, 230, and 260 °C for 30 min. To evaluate energy recovery, solid products were characterized in terms of mass yield, ash yield, ultimate analysis, proximate analyses, and higher heating value (HHV). The results showed that the energy density was increased with the increase in HTC temperature, meanwhile the mass yield and ash yield were decreased with the increase in HTC temperature. Proximate analysis showed that fixed carbon increased 18 wt. % for original char and 27 wt. % for HAF char at 260 °C, compared to their respective feedstocks. Finally, the hydrochar resulting from HAF was mixed with LAF and pelletized at 180 bar and 90 °C to densify the energy content. An energy balance of the integrated AC–HTC process was performed, and the results shows that integrated AC with HTC performed at 230 °C resulted in an additional 800 MJ/ton of energy recovery compared to the AC-only scenario.

The world is witnessing an unprecedented generation and accumulation of fiber-plastic wastes resulting in various challenges due to inconsistency, waste-stream heterogeneity, conveying issues, self-heating, and difficulty in pelletization. This study presents a novel pilot-scale system that integrates torrefaction and extrusion to convert mix fiber-plastic waste into fuel pellets. The produced pellets have low cost, high heating value, better uniformity, and low environmental impact. They can be used as solid fuels or as feedstock for pyrolysis and gasification. To evaluate the pellet cost and its environmental impact, we performed Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The TEA integrates research findings from the torrefaction-extrusion project with the techno-economic models and estimates the costs, energy consumption, and mass balances for pelletizing and torrefaction. The analysis indicates that the baseline cost of producing uniform pellets is about $55.28/dry tonne (2020$). LCA results indicate that the torrefied product has cradle-to-gate embodied greenhouse gas emissions that are net negative, although they are higher than a comparable forest-derived woodchip product. Fossil energy demand for the torrefied product is lower than the forest-derived chip, indicating the torrefied product has strong potential for use as an environmentally beneficial feedstock for future processing.

The products from fast pyrolysis of biomass are variable and highly dependent upon feedstock composition, particle size and geometry, and operating conditions such as heating rate, reaction temperature, and sweep gas composition and velocity. Microwave heating is internal to the biomass particles, thereby avoiding convective and conductive heat transfer limitations, which facilitates decoupling heat transfer effects from chemical reaction kinetics. This separation allows for elucidation of the primary effects of the original materials’ composition on product yields. To better understand the interconnectedness of biomass composition and fast pyrolysis (pyrolysis liquid oil yield in particular), a high throughput microwave-enhanced fast pyrolysis (MEFP) reactor was used to react 33 biomass samples with a minimum of three replicate tests each. The materials in this study included: woody feedstocks (with and without bark), agricultural residues, herbaceous energy crops, and blended feedstocks. The highest liquid yields were obtained from lumber (66.2 wt%) and tulip poplar (64.9 wt%), while the lowest yields were obtained from sorghum (47.8 wt%) and single-pass harvested corn stover (48.5 wt%). Liquid yields had an average standard deviation of 1.4 wt% (average 2.5% relative standard deviation). The MEFP achieved heating rates up to 200 °C/s, however, beyond 10 °C/s liquid oil plateaued with increasing heating rate. Multivariate regression of pyrolysis yields with over 20 feedstock properties, obtained through detailed compositional analysis, indicates that aggregated alkali and alkaline Earth metals (primarily K and Na, along with Ca and Mg) accounted for the most variability among liquid yields (R2 = 0.71). Addition of volatile matter as a second predictor variable achieved the greatest reduction of the model residuals to increase the coefficient of regression (R2) to 0.85. Liquid yield water fraction increased linearly with feedstock potassium and sodium content over a much wider range than previously observed. Pyrolysis oil acid content was found to increase with increasing volatile matter and decreasing potassium and sodium content.

We have developed a pyrolysis reactor based on a unique auger-paddle configuration with heat transfer material (HTM) and proved to achieve high heating rates and fast pyrolysis. We tested ten different biomass types and obtained bio-oil yields ranging from approximately 40% for thermally treated wood, to approximately 57% for crop residues (corn stover) and 67% yield for woody feedstocks (tulip poplar). These results, as well as the solid char yields, are similar to those obtained for the same feedstock using a circulating fluidized bed. Tests conducted without HTM resulted in lower bio-oil yields (ranging from 8 to 18% decrease in yield) and higher char yields with similar changes in magnitude, which is indicative of slow pyrolysis. In addition, a comprehensive study and analysis of the material residence time and mixing characteristics of the novel auger-paddle system is presented. These results demonstrate that an auger-paddle configuration is capable of achieving the high heating rates required for fast pyrolysis.

Paper waste generation has been rising in the past decades, with a large amount being landfilled. These paper wastes can be great energy sources after thermal treatment since they are considered carbon neutral. These wastes contain mainly cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and some minerals. The thermal decomposition of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin have been extensively studied, however, the knowledge of thermal degradation of paper wastes at lower temperatures, which are more practical for industrial applications are still lacking. In this study, paper wastes have been characterized and thermogravimetric analyses were performed from 200°C to 400°C and the char produced were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Two kinetic approaches were taken while developing the kinetic model of paper waste thermal degradation: (i) reconstructing the TGA results of paper waste thermal degradation by an additive law of the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin; (ii) considering paper waste as one material and develop a multi-step consecutive reaction mechanism that focuses on solid products at different temperatures. It was observed that there are potential interactions between cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin during paper waste degradation. Therefore, the second approach was concluded to be more plausible, and one set of kinetic parameters were determined according to the experimental results at different temperatures. These results provided insights into the degradation kinetic mechanism and solid product distribution of the paper waste. It was found that the first reaction was due to dehydration of cellulose and the 6th and 7th reaction can be attributed to the thermal degradation of lignin. The NMR and FTIR results also validated that the cellulose started degrading at lower temperatures, and lignin degradation became more pronounced at higher temperatures.

Hybrid poplar from the clone DN34 was studied to determine the rate of production of bio-oil species with respect to time during the fast pyrolysis process. 300–660 ug samples were pyrolyzed using a micropyrolzer at 500 °C at very high heating rates and very short vapor residence times. Individual poplar samples were run in triplicate at discrete time points ranging from 1 to 20 s in the micropyrolzer. Several bio-oil compounds from each individual sample were analyzed using GC/MS. Select bio-oil compounds, derived from the hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin fractions of the wood, were used to determine their rates of production from thermal degradation of the biomass. These rates were quantified using standards to determine the weight percent relative to the original raw biomass with respect to time. Pyrolysis kinetic reaction models were fit to this experimental data in order to determine suitability of each model. A first order exponential decay model for degradation of the solid biomass was fit against the data along with a six-step consecutive degradation model previously developed by our group. The experimental data suggests that compounds derived from the hemicellulose are produced at faster rates than that of the lignin or cellulose fractions of the wood, consistent with prior data from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). When applying the first order exponential decay model, the reaction rates calculated did prove that holocellulose compounds reaction rates were approximately twice that of the lignin compounds reaction rate but did not provide the best fit. The six-step degradation model provided a better fit to all of the biooil compounds and char data, and the stoichiometric parameters derived from the model fit showed that the first three reactions involved mostly the hemicellulose derived compounds while reaction steps 4–6 released cellulose- and lignin-derived compounds.

Biomass feedstock costs remain one of the largest impediments to biofuel production economics. Municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an attractive feedstock with year-round availability, an established collection infrastructure paid for by waste generators, low cost, and the potential to be blended with higher cost feedstocks to reduce overall feedstock costs. Paper waste, yard waste, and construction and demolition waste (CD yard waste consisted of grass clippings, and C&D wastes consisted of engineered wood products obtained from a construction waste landfill. The waste materials were tested for thermochemical conversion potential using a bench scale fast micropyrolysis process. Bio-oil yields were the highest for the C&D materials and lowest for the paper waste. The C&D wastes had the...

Pyrolysis has the potential to create a biocrude oil from biomass sources that can be used as fuel or as feedstock for subsequent upgrading to hydrocarbon fuels or other chemicals. The product distribution/composition, however, is linked to the biomass source. This work investigates the products formed from pyrolysis of woody biomass with a previously developed chemical kinetics model. Different woody feedstocks reported in prior literature are placed on a common basis (moisture, ash, fixed carbon free) and normalized by initial elemental composition through ultimate analysis. Observed product distributions over the full devolatilization range are explored, reconstructed by the model, and verified with independent experimental data collected with a microwave-assisted pyrolysis system. These trends include production of permanent gas (CO, CO2), char, and condensable (oil, water) species. Elementary compositions of these streams are also investigated. Close agreement between literature data, model predictio...

Thermochemical conversion is a promising pathway to renewable fuels. Torrefaction is the low temperature conversion to a primarily solid fuel, and pyrolysis is a higher temperature process that produces mainly a liquid bio-oil product. Though these processes are both thermal degradation routes in an inert atmosphere, they are often presented as different processes. A novel six stage consecutive model is proposed to describe a unified view of torrefaction and pyrolysis. The reactions lump chemical species formation in the six reaction stages and represent decomposition of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Activation energies of 104, 129, 154, 217, 256, and 285 kJ/mol were found through modeling of 32 unique gas-phase species fragments and weight loss dynamics for degradation from 260 to 425 °C. It is demonstrated that there is a unified process that occurs, and can describe the degradation of the structural components in biomass. These dynamics yield important insight into the thermal degradation mechanism such as the chemical product detachment dynamics, and the influence of process severity.

Power generation facilities are under constant pressure to comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations—namely, coal utilities. One possibility to aid in compliance is through the use of torrefied biomass as a replacement or supplement for traditional fossil coal. To obtain a continuous understanding of the changes to biomass as it is torrefied, a three-stage chemical reaction model with intrinsic rate coefficients was used. This gas/vapor phase model predicts the evolution of primary torrefaction products and was further used to predict changes in elemental composition and energy content of torrefied biomass. From the model, over the typical torrefaction region (up to ∼25–30% mass loss), the relative amount of carbon increased by approximately 9%, the oxygen decreased approximately 10%, and the hydrogen content was relatively unchanged. The material retained 90% of the original available energy, and the higher heating value increased by 22.5% from 19.1 to 23.4 MJ/kg. These properties were...

Using torrefied biomass, or biocoal, as a solid combustion fuel provides opportunity to introduce a sustainable feedstock into the energy market. The decomposition of biomass to biocoal is a very complex chemical process, yet detailed understanding of the mechanistic changes that occur can allow for system control and optimization. Torrefaction of lignocellulosic biomass has been studied extensively, and kinetic models have been developed to attempt to describe the observed behavior during Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) experiments, using very slow heating rates. The goal of this paper was to develop a baseline semi-empirical model for torrefaction of aspen wood using very fast heating rates (1000 °C/s) and GC–MS analysis. This fast heating rate was adopted in order to uncouple heat transfer and chemical kinetics. Having direct information about the specific chemical evolution during torrefaction affords mechanistic insights into torrefaction, along with opportunities for improved process design and control. The proposed kinetics model involves three sequential reactions in which initially the parent hemicellulose material produces gaseous products (CO and CO2), water, and organic acids (formic and acetic) and a solid intermediate. The next reaction further degrades the solid intermediate into the stated products. The final reaction further generates the products along with the final bio-coal product. We found the sequential reactions to have characteristic times of 0.99 min, 2.14 min and 39.45 min respectively at 300 °C. Improvements to the models and routes for future investigation are also discussed.

This study seeks to investigate the effects of biomass mixtures on overall sugar recovery from the combined processes of dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Aspen, a hardwood species well suited to biochemical processing, was chosen as the model species for this study. Balsam, a high-lignin softwood species, and switchgrass, an herbaceous energy crop with high ash content, were chosen as adjuncts. A matrix of three different dilute acid pretreatment severities and three different enzyme loading levels was used to characterize interactions between pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. No synergism or antagonism was observed for any of the feedstock mixtures. Maximum glucose yield was 70% of theoretical for switchgrass and maximum xylose yield was 99.7% of theoretical for aspen. Supplemental β-glucosidase increased glucose yield from enzymatic hydrolysis by an average of 15%. Total sugar recoveries for mixtures could be predicted to within 4% by linear interpolation of the pure species results.

Biomass is expected to become an important energy source in U.S. electricity generation under state-lead renewable portfolio standards. This paper investigated the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for energy generated from forest resources through pyrolysis-based processing. The GHG emissions of producing pyrolysis bio-oil (pyrolysis oil) from different forest resources were first investigated; logging residues collected from natural regeneration mixed hardwood stands, hybrid poplar cultivated and harvested from abandoned agricultural lands, short rotation forestry (SRF) willow plantations and waste wood available at the site of the pyrolysis plant. Effects of biomass transportation were investigated through a range of distances to a central pyrolysis facility through road transport by semi-truck. Pyrolysis oil is assumed to be converted to electrical power through co-combustion in conventional fossil fuels power plants, gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) and diesel generators. Life cycle GHG emissions were compared with power generated using fossil fuels and power generated using biomass direct combustion in a conventional Rankine power plant. Life cycle GHG savings of 77%–99% were estimated for power generation from pyrolysis oil combustion relative to fossil fuels combustion, depending on the biomass feedstock and combustion technologies used. Several scenario analyses were conducted to determine effects of pyrolysis oil transportation distance, N-fertilizer inputs to energy crop plantations, and assumed electricity mixes for pyrolysis oil production.