Jiyoung Lim  Sohee Kim  Jeongchul Kim  Jooil Park  Doyeon Lee  Shin Hyuk Kim

Vol. 31,  No. 3, pp. 156-170, Sep.  2025
10.7464/ksct.2025.31.3.156

Biomass Pyrolysis Computational fluid dynamics Fluidized-bed reactor Surrogate modeling

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Biomass pyrolysis is a promising thermochemical pathway for converting organic waste into high-value products. As a result, it offers practical solutions for sustainable energy generation and waste management. However, the design and optimization of biomass pyrolysis reactors remain technically challenging due to the complex, multiphase behavior of the system. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based simulation has emerged as a powerful tool for physically and precisely analyzing such complex multiphase flow systems. By virtually reproducing internal phenomena that are difficult to observe experimentally, CFD-based simulation enables effective system analysis and improvement. This paper reviews recent research trends focusing on the methods and applications of CFD for the precise design of biomass pyrolysis reactors. It covers the flow characteristics of fixed-bed and fluidized-bed reactors, multiphase flow modeling techniques, and methods for analyzing fluid and heat transfer under various operating conditions and structural configurations. In addition, it covers surrogate models based on artificial neural networks (ANNs), physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) for physical quantity estimation, and strategies for expanding simulations to industrial scales by using high-performance computing (HPC). Ultimately, this review comprehensively summarizes the integration potential of CFD-based analysis and machine learning techniques and discusses possible future directions for achieving precise designs and optimizations for biomass pyrolysis reactors.