Food and market waste (FMW) is one of the most abundant unrecycled products which poses waste management issues and negative environmental impacts. Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR®) is a pyrolysis based technology which can convert a wide range of biomass wastes into energy vectors bio-oil, syngas and char. This paper investigates the conversion potential of FMW into sustainable biofuels. The FMW was processed using a laboratory scale 2 kg/h TCR® reactor. The process produced 7 wt% organic bio-oil, 53 wt% permanent gas and 22 wt% char. The bio-oil higher heating value (HHV) was found to be 36.72 MJ/kg, comparable to biodiesel and contained a low oxygen content (< 5%) due to cracking of higher molecular weight organics. Naphthalene was detected to be the most abundant aromatic compound within the oil, with relative abundance of 12.95% measured by GC–MS. The total acid number of the oil (TAN) and viscosity were 11.7 mg KOH/g and 6.3 cSt respectively. The gross calorific value of the produced biochar was 23.64 MJ/kg, while the permanent gas showed a higher heating value of approximately 17 MJ/Nm3. Methane (CH4) was found to be the largest fraction in the permanent gases reaching over 23%. This resulted either due to the partial methanation of bio-syngas over the catalytically active FMW biochar or the hydrogenation of coke deposited on the biochar in the post reforming stage.

Being a developing economy, Pakistan is facing a severe energy crisis that limits its economic development. Pakistan relies heavily on energy resources like natural gas, oil, hydropower, nuclear, coal and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which contribute as 48.3, 32.1, 11.3, 7.6, and 0.6% of the primary energy supply, respectively. Because of the rapidly growing population and economy, Pakistan's energy needs are huge; to accomplish these energy necessities, Pakistan is continually spending $7–9 billion on the import of fossil fuels. To resolve the serious issues of energy availability, the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) of Pakistan is currently exploring the development of renewable energy technologies in Pakistan that will be beneficial for the developing economy so that Pakistan might be able to minimize the growing energy crisis. Out of all the renewable energy resources, biomass is considered the best and most easily accessible source of energy with its unique environmentally friendly nature, constant supply, wider availability, and ease of integration into existing infrastructure. Despite the presence of an abundance of biomass energy resources, there is still a need for work on the use of these sources to produce energy. This literature review explores the availability of biomass resources in Pakistan and their potential for addressing rapidly growing energy demand in the country, which can assist in the stabilization of a Pakistan's energy demand for challenged economic development.

Pyrolysis is one of the most popular methods for the thermal conversion of biomass-derived materials, which can be applied to produce valuable products such as biochar, bio-oil, and pyrolysis gas. However, this does not change the need for more precise data on the products obtained from such processes under different conditions, using different types of reactors or types of biomass material. Pyrolysis products can have a high energy value and have been extensively studied. In the presented research, three potential energy feedstocks from waste biomass, wheat cereal straw (CS), tobacco waste (TW), and furniture waste (FW) were comprehensively evaluated in terms of product yields, as well as the chemical composition of the volatile products of the pyrolysis process using the pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technique and the chemical distribution of the products obtained under fixed-bed pyrolysis conditions. The obtained results were compared to data from the literature, which provided thorough information on the pyrolysis of biomass materials in diverse systems. The research identified the primary elements of the liquid fraction, such as N-compounds, furans, phenols, benzene, PAHs, aldehyde-ketone-alcohol, and organic acids, which were the main constituents of the liquid fraction, and the concentration of non-condensable components of gaseous products. The research discussed in this article provides a comprehensive approach to the thermal conversion of biomass materials, which, depending on their origin, processing conditions, and methodologies, can be utilised for more than only energy production.