Supercritical extraction and microwave activation of wood wastes for enhanced syngas production and generation of fullerene-like soot particles

This work demonstrated that supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is effective as a pre-treatment technology to generate soot particles with the fullerene-like structure and increase syngas yield from extracted residues during coupled microwave activation with gasification. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction removes over half of the fatty and resin acids from needles and branches, whereas the extraction of needles generates greater yields of value-added compounds. The high yields of extractives indicate the effective conversion of waste wood for the sustainable production of value-added chemicals. The wood extraction did not influence the solid residue yields during pyrolysis/gasification emphasizing the significant potential of integrating the extraction process into the holistic biorefinery. Interestingly, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction had a significant effect on the structure and quality of soot particles formed. The differences in the extractives composition led to the formation of needle soot particles with a porous and less ordered nanostructure, whereas the soot branches obtained a ring graphitic structure. The greater yields of steroids and terpenes during the extraction of needles compared to the branches pretreatment indicated the influence of the extractives type on the soot nanostructure.