000169079 001__ 169079 000169079 005__ 20260218135106.0 000169079 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121154 000169079 0248_ $$2sideral$$a148185 000169079 037__ $$aART-2026-148185 000169079 041__ $$aeng 000169079 100__ $$0(orcid)0009-0003-7099-4864$$aGracia-Monforte, César$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000169079 245__ $$aEnergy, exergy and mass balances of a biomass pyrolysis pilot plant 000169079 260__ $$c2026 000169079 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000169079 5203_ $$aThis work presents the methodology and results of the energy, exergy, and mass balances of a fixed-bed downdraft biomass pyrolysis pilot plant. The analysis covers different operating modes: pyrolysis without energy recovery, with energy recovery from products, and with combustion of non-condensable gases including exhaust-gas heat recovery. The proposed framework enables consistent comparison of energy and exergy performance under varying process configurations. Experimental results show that the external heat demand of the pyrolysis process strongly depends on the energy recovery strategy. When products are cooled to the reference state, the required heat input is approximately 1.3 MJ/kg, increasing to about 3 MJ/kg when products leave at the pyrolysis temperature. The combustion of process gases significantly reduces this demand, while integrating exhaust-gas heat recovery leads to quasi-autothermal operation. Exergy analysis reveals that gas combustion and heat recovery lower exergy efficiency due to the conversion of high-quality pyrogases into exhaust gases. Nevertheless, the methodology developed allows quantifying these trade-offs and provides a comprehensive tool to evaluate process integration strategies in biomass pyrolysis systems aimed at improved thermal performance and sustainability. 000169079 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2023-1490520B-I00$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T22-23R 000169079 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nc$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es 000169079 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000169079 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-2866-9035$$aLete, Alejandro$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000169079 700__ $$aMarias, Frédéric 000169079 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0003-4493-6540$$aÁbrego, Javier$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000169079 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-5959-3168$$aArauzo, Jesús$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000169079 7102_ $$15005$$2555$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb.$$cÁrea Ingeniería Química 000169079 7102_ $$15005$$2790$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb.$$cÁrea Tecnologi. Medio Ambiente 000169079 773__ $$g353 (2026), 121154 [11 pp.]$$pEnergy convers. manag.$$tENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT$$x0196-8904 000169079 8564_ $$s2450684$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169079/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000169079 8564_ $$s2625536$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169079/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000169079 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:169079$$particulos$$pdriver 000169079 951__ $$a2026-02-18-12:23:51 000169079 980__ $$aARTICLE