Primer on Bioproducts - BIOCAP Canada

PyrolysisPyrolysis is a process that usesheat to decompose biomass in theabsence of oxygen. Ground upbiomass is exposed to temperaturesof just under 500°C, converting itto char and gases. The gases arethen rapidly cooled, and some ofthem condense into pyrolysis oil.The pyrolysis oil is a mixture ofwater and many different organiccompounds. It can be burned as isfor fuel, or can be refined to yielduseful industrial chemicals andhigher quality fuel. The gases thatare produced during pyrolysis canbe burned to create heat to keepthe process going.Bioproducts are already found in cosmetic kits and bathroomcabinets. Products from oil seeds and plant material arefrequently used in the manufacture of soaps and shampoos.Algae are used to produce natural colours for use in cosmetics.A chemical known as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is often used as afloor covering. This petroleum-based product could be replacedby linoleum produced from plant fibres and resins. Artists’ paintsthat once used petroleum-based azo pigments can now use dyesavailable in plants.How Are Bioproducts Made?Bioproducts are made using biomass as a raw material. Rawmaterials for industry can also use biomass left over fromconventional agriculture, forestry and marine activities, as well asmunicipal works and industrial processes. The biomass may havelittle economic value and may be waste material that wouldotherwise be expensive to dispose of, such as manure andmunicipal landfill wastes. Such materials, however, becomevaluable as biomass. As they generate methane through microbialprocessing, they can be used to generate electricity.Biomass may also be specifically grown to serve an industrialpurpose. In some cases, crops and trees are selected or engineeredto provide biomass of a particular quality and composition tomake processing it both technologically and economicallyfeasible.Manufacturing bioproducts from biomass involves a variety ofindustrial techniques. For instance, new methods for thethermochemical processing of biomass (such as pyrolysis) areused to generate biobased oil and gas. These fuels can, in turn, beused to power electrical generators and motors. Fermentation isalso used to make bioproducts and biofuels.12CHAPTER 1 — WHAT ARE BIOPRODUCTS?