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Reaction Engineering and Applied Thermochemical Conversion Laboratory
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Pyrolysis and biochar

Pyrolysis of biomass and waste; biochar as catalyst, carbon material and battery-anode precursor; carbon nanotubes from plastic waste.

Schematic of the pyrolysis setup: biomass feedstock is heated in an electric pyrolyzer with temperature control, the vapours are condensed into bio-oil, and the biochar is collected. Figure: Bram Wiratma, 2026.
Schematic of the pyrolysis setup: biomass feedstock is heated in an electric pyrolyzer with temperature control, the vapours are condensed into bio-oil, and the biochar is collected. Figure: Bram Wiratma, 2026.

Pyrolysis converts biomass and waste into biochar, bio-oil and gas. The lab produces biochar by pyrolysis and carbonization and uses it as a feedstock for co-gasification and as a catalyst for cracking bio-oil model compounds.

Spent biochar catalysts are evaluated as precursors for sodium-ion battery anodes, and the group's published work extends to carbon nanotube production from plastic-waste pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis for improved bio-oil yield and quality.

Current topics

  • Biochar production by pyrolysis and carbonization
  • Biochar as a catalyst for bio-oil reforming
  • Biochar-derived battery-anode precursors
  • Carbon nanotubes from plastic-waste pyrolysis

Theses in progress

Publications

All publications

  1. Pan R., Yu J., Yang Y., Zaini I. N., He X., Rafique M., Wu Y., Jiang K., Dai L., Fang Y., Chao Y., Wen Y., Guo Y., Debenest G., Yang W., Li W., Zhang Y., Shuai Y. (2026). Enhancing carbon nanotubes production from pyrolysis–catalysis of plastic waste through monolithic heating. National Science Review 13 (10), nwag143. doi:10.1093/nsr/nwag143

  2. Gautam R., Kulkarni S. R., Zaini I. N., Han H., Sarathy S. M., Dally B. B., Roberts W. L. (2026). A review on interactions and reactor implications during pyrolysis of biomass- and plastic-based waste. Applications in Energy and Combustion Science 26, 100507. doi:10.1016/j.jaecs.2026.100507

  3. Jin Y., Liu S., Shi Z., Wang S., Wen Y., Zaini I. N., Tang C., Hedenqvist M. S., Lu X., Kawi S., Wang C.-H., Jiang J., Jönsson P. G., Yang W. (2024). A novel three-stage ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis process for improved bio-oil yield and quality from lignocellulosic biomass. Energy 295, 131029. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2024.131029

  4. Yang H., Nurdiawati A., Gond R., Chen S., Wang S., Tang B., Jin Y., Zaini I. N., Shi Z., Wang W., Martin A., Younesi R., Sandström L., Jönsson P. G., Yang W., Han T. (2024). Carbon-negative valorization of biomass waste into affordable green hydrogen and battery anodes. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 49, 459–471. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.09.096

  5. Wang S., Wang Y., Shi Z., Sun K., Wen Y., Niedzwiecki L., Pan R., Xu Y., Zaini I. N., Jagodzińska K., Aragon-Briceno C., Tang C., Onsree T., Tippayawong N., Pawlak-Kruczek H., Jönsson P. G., Yang W., Jiang J., Kawi S., Wang C.-H. (2023). Van Krevelen diagrams based on machine learning visualize feedstock-product relationships in thermal conversion processes. Communications Chemistry 6, 273. doi:10.1038/s42004-023-01077-z