Biomass pyrolysis integrated with bio-reduction of metal ores, hydrogen production, and/or activated-carbon production

A process for producing a metal product, the process comprising:

• (a) providing a biomass feedstock;
• (b) pyrolyzing the biomass feedstock, thereby generating a biogenic reagent, wherein the biogenic reagent comprises carbon, and a pyrolysis off-gas;
• (c) optionally, oxidizing the pyrolysis off-gas, thereby generating heat;
• (d) reacting the biogenic reagent with a selected reactant, thereby generating a reducing gas, wherein the reducing gas comprises at least about 10 mol % hydrogen;
• (e) chemically reducing a selected metal oxide in the presence of the reducing gas from step (d), wherein the reducing is achieved utilizing the hydrogen, thereby generating a reduced form of the selected metal oxide;
• (f) recovering a metal product comprising the reduced form of the selected metal oxide;
• and
• (g) recovering the biogenic reagent continuously or periodically during step (d), or ultimately after step (d), thereby generating a recovered biogenic reagent, wherein the recovered biogenic reagent is an activated carbon,
• wherein the process further comprises increasing hydrogen content of the reducing gas via the water-gas shift reaction.