Abstract: The influence of temperature on the relative content of pyrolysis products obtained by Curie-point pyrolysis of xylan,which was considered as the model compound of hemicelluloses, was investigated by Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy( CP-GC-MS), and pyrolysis behavior of xylan was contrasted with cellulose. The results showed that the process of xylan Curie-point pyrolysis could be divided into two regions. At the temperature of less than 300℃, xylan by random glycosidic cleavage of xylan was cleaved to form furfural and monosaccharides, where furfural content reached 54.38% in the pyrolysate. At the temperature of more than 300℃, the kind and content of chemicals of small molecular aldehyde and ketone were increased greatly with the enhancement of pyrolysis temperature. The difference of pyrolysis behaviors between xylan and cellulose was that pyrolysis temperature of xylan was lower than that of cellulose, and the main pyrolysis product from xylan was furfural, while that of cellulose was levoglucosan.

Key words: xylan, Curie-point pyrolysis, CP-GC-MS