Researchers from North Carolina State University provide molecular-level insights into how cellulose breaks down in wood to create “bio-oils” which can be refined into any number of useful products, including liquid transportation fuels. Using a supercomputer, researchers led by Dr. Phillip Westmoreland calculated what’s occurring at the molecular level when wood is rapidly heated to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, a decomposition process known as pyrolysis. The results, which could help spur more effective and efficient ways of converting farmed and waste wood into useful bio-oils, is published in the 13 December 2012 issue of the Journal of… Login to continue

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