Pyrolysis is a key step in the thermochemical conversion processes of biomass for the synthesis of second generation biofuels. The objective is to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of pyrolysis at the particle scale. It appears necessary to first get new data by controlling the operating conditions in order to secondly validate models. An experimental device has been developed to study the pyrolysis of wood centimeter-scale particle between 450 and 1050°C. The internal temperature, the mass and size of the particle, and instantaneous gas yields were monitored continuously. The products of pyrolysis were characterized. The model developed in a two dimensional system by the Catholic University of Louvain was chosen to describe the experimental conditions and simulate the results. Significant differences between model and experiments were observed. The comparison between simulated and experimental results and the results of a parametric study are used to identify ways to improve the reliability and the predictive ability of the simulations. The measurement of the particle thermal properties was one of the identified ways and was studied carefully. Correlations are proposed to describe the variations of both wood and char heat capacities and thermal conductivities with the pyrolysis temperature until 1050°C.
