The effect of thermo-catalytic reforming of a pyrolysis bio-oil on its performance in a micro-gas turbine burner

•Performance of a thermo-catalytic reformed pyrolysis bio-oil (TCR) fuel was studied.•A burner was designed based on a Lean Premixed Prevaporized (LPP) combustion.•A stable flame with a100% TCR was possible with a twin-fluid nozzle.•100% FPBO combustion was not possible due to fuel coking and flame instability.•The gaseous and particulate matter emissions of the fuels are presented. The combustion performance and pollutant emissions of a pyrolysis bio-oil (also called pyrolysis oil) upgraded with a thermo-catalytic reforming process were investigated experimentally in a micro-gas turbine burner and compared with those of a conventional bio-oil, ethanol (EtOH), and diesel fuel. The upgraded intermediate pyrolysis bio-oil called thermo-catalytic reforming bio-oil (TCRBO) has lower water and oxygen contents, suspended solid particulates, and non-volatile residue, along with higher carbon content, physical and chemical stability, and compatibility with fossil oils compared to the conventional fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO). A stable flame with 100% TCRBO was possible in the present burner, whereas 50% by volume fraction EtOH had to be added to FPBO to improve its ignition and combustion characteristics. The original externally-mixed twin-fluid nozzle of the micro-gas turbine was replaced with an internally-mixed one which exhibited a superior performance with bio-oils. Over the practical range of air-to-liquid mass flow ratio for bio-oils, 0.3