Experimental study on biomass reactive drying based on three major components: Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin

Reactive drying is a promising method for optimizing the drying and comminution of biomass. This paper investigated the reactive drying mechanism and the mechanical properties of three major components of biomass: cellulose (CL), hemicellulose (HL), and lignin (LN). The results indicated that HL was most significantly affected by temperature, with weight loss observed in the following descending order: HL > LN > CL. Based on FTIR and 13 C NMR analyses, the chemical structure changes of these three components differed and the reactive drying mechanism was revealed. Specifically, the temperature range of 105–150 °C was primarily associated with dehydration reactions, while processes such as depolymerization of CL and HL as well as decarboxylation of LN occurred within the temperature range of 150–200 °C. The Young’s modulus at different temperatures was measured using AFM, revealing that the Young’s modulus changes were ranked as HL > CL > LN. The impact of reactive drying on Young’s modulus could be attributed to the breakage of molecular chains due to the depolymerization of HL and CL, in addition to the thermal movement of the molecular chains.