Advanced biomass pyrolysis: Bio-oil upgrading and nanostructured carbon materials – A bibliometric and critical review
Abstract
Pyrolysis is one of the most effective thermochemical routes for converting renewable biomass into high-value products, including bio-oil, syngas and biochar. This review synthesizes recent advances in pyrolysis mechanisms, with specific focus on how operating conditions (temperature, heating rate, residence time, catalysts and feedstock properties) govern the yield and quality of products. Bio-oil remains the most versatile output, yet its high oxygen content (45-50 wt%), instability and low energy density require upgrading. A bibliometric analysis reveals a strong and continuous increase in scientific output related to bio-oil upgrading, reflecting growing industrial interest. State-of-the-art strategies are critically discussed, including hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), catalytic cracking, and solvent fractionation. The hydrodeoxygenation process achieves oxygen removal efficiencies up to 90-93%, reducing oxygen content from 44 wt% to below 20 wt% and increasing higher heating values to 41-44 MJ kg -1 . The emerging use of bio-oil as a precursor for advanced carbon nanostructures is also highlighted. Bio-oil derived porous carbons exhibit specific surface areas exceeding 2500 m 2 g -1 and carbon yields up to 45%, demonstrating strong potential for energy storage and catalytic applications. Porous carbons, carbon nanotubes, and graphene-like materials are now obtained via pyrolytic carbonization, hydrothermal treatment or chemical activation, showing promising performance in energy storage, catalysis and environmental remediation. Overall, this review positions pyrolysis as a dual platform: enabling bio-oil upgrading for energy applications and generating high-value carbon materials, in line with circular bioeconomy concepts.
Related
- Emerging Paradigms in Electrochemical Water Treatment: Advanced Electrode Materials, Resource Recovery, and Machine Learning
- Electrode Materials for Glyphosate Removal from Water by Advanced Anodic Oxidation Processes: A Critical Review
- Decoupling ore formation, ductile fabric and hydrothermal upgrading in the giant Salobo IOCG deposit, Carajás Province, Brazil
- Silicon allotropes by large-volume high-pressure techniques: crystal growth mechanisms, phase diagrams and hexagonal nanostructured Si-6H by in situ X-ray diffraction and computational methods
- A Unified Classification of Waste Plastic Chemical Recycling: Pyrolysis, Gasification, Depolymerization, and Dissolution.
BibTeX
@article{ouchitachne2026advanced,
title = {{Advanced biomass pyrolysis: Bio-oil upgrading and nanostructured carbon materials – A bibliometric and critical review}},
author = {Naoual Ouchitachne and Soumia Aboulhrouz and Saida Tayibi and Mariem Ellouze and Emna Berrich and Adil Aboulkas and Mina Oumam and Abdellatif Barakat},
journal = {Fuel Processing Technology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.fuproc.2026.108574},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05794758v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Advanced biomass pyrolysis: Bio-oil upgrading and nanostructured carbon materials – A bibliometric and critical review
AU - Naoual Ouchitachne
AU - Soumia Aboulhrouz
AU - Saida Tayibi
AU - Mariem Ellouze
AU - Emna Berrich
AU - Adil Aboulkas
AU - Mina Oumam
AU - Abdellatif Barakat
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Fuel Processing Technology
DO - 10.1016/j.fuproc.2026.108574
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05794758v1
AB - Pyrolysis is one of the most effective thermochemical routes for converting renewable biomass into high-value products, including bio-oil, syngas and biochar. This review synthesizes recent advances in pyrolysis mechanisms, with specific focus on how operating conditions (temperature, heating rate, residence time, catalysts and feedstock properties) govern the yield and quality of products. Bio-oil remains the most versatile output, yet its high oxygen content (45-50 wt%), instability and low energy density require upgrading. A bibliometric analysis reveals a strong and continuous increase in scientific output related to bio-oil upgrading, reflecting growing industrial interest. State-of-the-art strategies are critically discussed, including hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), catalytic cracking, and solvent fractionation. The hydrodeoxygenation process achieves oxygen removal efficiencies up to 90-93%, reducing oxygen content from 44 wt% to below 20 wt% and increasing higher heating values to 41-44 MJ kg -1 . The emerging use of bio-oil as a precursor for advanced carbon nanostructures is also highlighted. Bio-oil derived porous carbons exhibit specific surface areas exceeding 2500 m 2 g -1 and carbon yields up to 45%, demonstrating strong potential for energy storage and catalytic applications. Porous carbons, carbon nanotubes, and graphene-like materials are now obtained via pyrolytic carbonization, hydrothermal treatment or chemical activation, showing promising performance in energy storage, catalysis and environmental remediation. Overall, this review positions pyrolysis as a dual platform: enabling bio-oil upgrading for energy applications and generating high-value carbon materials, in line with circular bioeconomy concepts.
SN - 0378-3820
SN - 1873-7188
ER -