On the heat of reaction in wood pyrolysis

A mathematical model describing the essential processes taking place in wood pyrolysis has been utilized with experimental data on wood cylinders to deduce the value of the heat of reaction of wood. The model includes mechanisms for transient conduction, internal convection, variable properties, Arrhenius decomposition, and heat of reaction. Using this model and the experiment of Roberts & Clough [Ninth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa. (1963), p. 158] we find the heat of the pyrolysis reaction, defined in terms of initial and final reference states at ambient temperature, to be endothermic. Some typical numerical results are also presented.