Pine nutshells (PNSs) are lignocellulosic waste materials with limited use in domestic
heating. However, a biorefinery approach may be applied to fractionate PNSs and produce chemicals,
materials, and improved solid fuels. In this study, we fractionated PNSs and produced antioxidant
extracts, lignins, polysaccharides, chars, and activated carbons and analyzed their potential applications.
Pyrolytic kinetic modeling as an alternative method to chemical fractionation was also tested.
The results showed that the PNS contains low amounts of extracts with weak thiobarbituric acid
reactive substances (TBARS) antioxidant properties, while its lignin content is remarkable (50.5%).
Pyrolytic kinetic modeling was comparable to wet chemical analysis for estimating lignin yield.
Moderate-temperature pyrolysis of the PNS resulted in a 23% char yield. The PNS chars showed
improved fuel characteristics, retained 36% water, and leached 151 mg/L potassium into the water.
The steam activation of PNS biochars at 750 ◦C resulted in oxygen-enriched activated carbons with
specific surface areas up to 467 m2/g. The overall results indicate promising biochar applications of
the PNS for soil amendment and supercapacitor uses.
