Surface analysis of solid products of thermal treatment of lignocellulosic biomass

An analysis of surface properties of lignocellulosic biomass subjected to the thermal treatment is a very important task taking into account possibility of the industrial application of carbonaceous materials formed in the mentioned process. The knowledge of morphology and chemical composition of the surface of products of thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic feedstock allows for the control of their formation process and development of the materials with unique properties. That is why this work was focused on the presentation of the most useful methods of the analysis of the surface of solids formed in thermal processing of biomass. An application of microscopic techniques (SEM, TEM) for the analysis of morphology, nitrogen adsorption/desorption method for the evaluation of porosity, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for assessment of oxygen-containing functional groups, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) for the determination of surface composition of the studied biochars was discussed. The advantages and drawbacks of these methods were presented. •New trends in surface characterization of biomass subjected to thermal treatment.•Advanced analytical methods for determination of surface properties of biochars.•Development of techniques for analysis of solid products of biomass pyrolysis.