Catalytic pyrolysis of tyres: influence of catalyst temperature

Two stage pyrolysis–catalysis of used tyres was undertaken to upgrade the derived oil to a highly aromatic oil suitable to be used as a chemical feedstock rather than a liquid fuel. The tyres were pyrolysed in a fixed bed reactor and the evolved pyrolysis gases were passed through a secondary fixed bed reactor containing zeolite catalyst. The pyrolysis reactor was maintained at 500 °C and the influence of catalyst temperature between 430 and 600 °C on the yield and composition of the derived oils was examined. Two zeolite catalysts were examined; a Y-type zeolite catalyst and zeolite ZSM-5 catalyst of differing pore size and surface activity. The influence of the catalyst was to reduce the yield of oil with a consequent increase in the gas yield and formation of coke on the catalyst. Single ring aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene and xylenes present in the oils showed a marked increase in the presence of the catalyst. Naphthalene and alkylated naphthalenes were also analysed and showed a similar marked increase in the concentration when a catalyst was present. The Y-type zeolite catalyst of larger pore size and higher surface activity was found to produce higher concentrations of aromatic compounds compared to the ZSM-5 catalyst. Increasing the catalyst temperature resulted in significant changes in the concentration of benzene, toluene, xylenes, naphthalene and the alkylated naphthalenes.     

Aromatic and hetero-aromatic compositional changes during catalytic hydrotreatment of shale oil

Oil shale from the Kimmeridge Clay, of Jurassic age from the UK was pyrolysed in a 5 kg fixed bed reactor at 525°C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The derived shale oil was then hydrotreated at 15.0 Mpa pressure and 400°C in a stirred reactor with a nickel–molybdenum (Ni–Mo) catalyst and residence times from 8 to 56 h. The shale oils were analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and for nitrogen-PAH (PANH) and sulphur-PAH (PASH), before and after hydrotreatment. The results showed that generally the higher molecular weight three and four ring PAH decreased with increasing hydrotreatment time, however, single ring aromatic compounds and two ring PAH were increased. Nitrogen and sulphur containing PAH were significantly reduced in concentration in the oils with increasing hydrotreatment time to reach negligible concentrations after 56 h. The reduction in PANH and PASH coincided with a reduction in the overall nitrogen and sulphur contents of the oils.     

催化裂解精制污泥热解油的工艺研究

以扬子污水处理厂的污水和污泥为原料,选取热解反应温度、热解反应时间、催化裂解反应温度和催化剂用量等因素,通过正交试验确定催化裂解精制污泥热解油的最佳工艺条件,并考察以上因素对精制油收率的影响.结果表明,在热解反应温度420℃、热解反应时间60 min、催化裂解反应温度460℃和催化剂用量(以催化剂床层高度表示)3 cm...     

Upgrading of derived pyrolysis vapors for the production of biofuels from corncobs

A bubbling fluidized bed pyrolyzer was integrated with an in-situ honeycomb as a catalytic upgrading zone for the conversion of biomass to liquid fuels. In the upgrading zone, zeolite coated ceramic honeycomb (ZCCH) catalysts consisting of ZSM-5 (Si/Al=25) were stacked and N₂ or recycled non-condensable gas was used as a carrier gas. Ground corncob particles were fast pyrolyzed in the bubbling bed using fine sand particles as a heat carrier and the resulting pyrolysis vapors were passed on-line over the catalytic upgrading zone. The influence of carrier gas, temperature, and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of catalyst on the oil product properties, distribution and mass balance were studied. Using ZCCH effectively increased the hydrocarbon yield and the heating value of the dry oil, especially in the presence of the recycled noncondensable gas. Even a low usage of zeolite catalyst at WSHV of 180 h⁻¹ was effective in upgrading the pyrolysis oil and other light olefins. The highest hydrocarbon (≥C2) and liquid aromatics yields reached to 14.23 and 4.17 wt-%, respectively. The undesirable products including light oxygenates, furans dramatically decreased in the presence of the ZCCH catalyst.     

水合CaO对微拟球藻催化热解制备生物油的影响

以水合CaO为催化剂,在管式炉内研究了微拟球藻的催化热解.考察了催化剂用量对微拟球藻热解产物及油品组成的影响,并通过直接再生和强化再生研究了催化剂的再生特性.结果表明:随着水合CaO用量逐渐加大,生物油性能明显改善.在催化剂/藻质量比为1:3时催化热解得到的生物油产率为28.5%,具有含氧量低、热值高、运动黏度低、含水率低等优点.与直接热解油相比,催化热解油中羧基化合物和羟基化合物含量均有明显下降,而脂肪烃和芳香烃含量均显著增加.第1次和第2次循环再生实验中,直接再生催化剂依然具有较高的催化活性.通过在直接再生过程中引入水洗强化步骤,可对再生催化剂表面进行更新,并降低其表面的碱金属含量,明显改善再生催化剂所催化热解的油品质量,提高再生催化剂活性.     

城市污水污泥催化快速热解制备芳香烃和烯烃

将城市污水污泥干燥处理,在小型热解分析系统中使用沸石分子筛进行催化快速热解实验,研究热解条件对芳香烃和烯烃产率及选择性的影响。结果表明：污泥快速热解产物中,烃类物质和含氮化合物较多,这些组分主要源自污泥中的蛋白质和油脂成分;添加催化剂后,芳香烃和烯烃的产率明显提高;在热解温度500℃、催化温度600℃条件下芳香烃和烯烃的产率分别为24%和19%。另外,污泥中大部分的N、P、Na和K等元素依然保留在炭粉中。     

Catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived oils to transportation fuels and chemicals

This paper provides a review of the catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived oils such as wood pyrolytic oils, plant/vegetable oils and tall oil to transportation fuels and useful chemicals. Both zeolite and hydrotreating type catalysts have been found suitable for upgrading which was usually done in fixed bed reactors. The hydrotreatment of pyrolytic oils at 250-450°C and 15-20 MPa H₂ pressures has been reported to yield up to 55 wt. % of liquid product containing 40-50 wt. % of gasoline range hydrocarbons. In the case of HZSM-5, the upgrading has been carried out at atmospheric pressure and 350-500°C and over 85 wt. % conversions of plant oils and tall oil have been achieved under optimum conditions. Liquid product yields from these oils were up to 70 wt. % of feed which contained 40-50 wt. % aromatic hydrocarbons. With the high pressure pyrolytic oil, pitch conversions of over 75 wt. % have been observed with HZSM-5 using co-feeds such as tetralin. However, there is only scant information available on the kinetic and mechanistic aspects of upgrading of these oils.     

Direct catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapors by a dual function Ru/TiO2 catalyst

The results of catalytic treatment of vapors exiting a g/min pyrolysis unit before product condensation to the liquid phase using a Ru/TiO₂ catalyst for oak and switchgrass pyrolysis are reported. The pyrolysis is conducted at 500°C and the catalysis at 400°C at atmospheric pressure with a hydrogen partial pressure of 0.58 atm. It is found that the catalytic treatment provides significant conversion of light oxygenates to larger, less oxygenated, molecules and, simultaneously, bio‐oil phenolics are also converted to less oxygenated phenolics with methoxy methyl groups transferred to the ring. The activity of the catalyst gradually diminished with increasing biomass fed to the system. Untreated pyrolysis oil forms a single liquid phase with some tarry material, consistent with the literature, whereas the treated liquid product forms separate oil and aqueous phases, the latter of which is about 80% water. The oil from the treated vapors has a lower initial viscosity with only a small increase upon accelerated aging compared to the untreated product oil, which has a dramatic increase in viscosity after aging. This is indicative of poor oil stability for untreated oil that is further confirmed by large increases in molecular weight, while the treated oil has a small increase in molecular weight after accelerated aging. In an effort to understand compatibility with refinery streams, the solubility of the oils in tetralin was examined. The untreated oil was found to have very limited solubility in tetralin, whereas the treated oil phase was completely soluble except for a small aqueous phase that appeared. There are a number of challenges in developing a high yield process for pyrolysis based conversion of biomass to transportation fuels. The Ru/TiO₂ catalyst used here shows promise for conducting multiple types of favorable reactions in the presence of the full spectrum of primary pyrolysis products that creates significant product stability under mild conditions. This could lead to higher liquid yields of stable, refinery compatible, product oil. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2275–2285, 2013     

Microwave-heated pyrolysis of waste automotive engine oil: Influence of operation parameters on the yield,composition, and fuel properties of pyrolysis oil

The pyrolysis of waste automotive engine oil was investigated using microwave energy as the heat source, and the yield and characteristics of the pyrolysis oils (i.e. elemental analysis, hydrocarbon composition, and potential fuel properties) are presented and discussed. The microwave-heated pyrolysis generated an 88 wt.% yield of condensable pyrolysis oil with fuel properties (e.g. density, calorific value) comparable to traditional liquid transportation fuels derived from fossil fuel. Examination of the composition of the oils showed the formation of light aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons that could also be used as a chemical feedstock. The oil product showed significantly high recovery (90%) of the energy present in the waste oil, and is also relatively contaminant free with low levels of sulphur, oxygen, and toxic PAH compounds. The high yield of pyrolysis oil can be attributed to the unique heating mode and chemical environment present during microwave-heated pyrolysis. This study extends existing findings on the effects of pyrolysis process conditions on the overall yield and formation of the recovered oils, by demonstrating that feed injection rate, flow rate of purge-gas, and heating source influence the concentration and the molecular nature of the different hydrocarbons formed in the pyrolysis oils. The microwave-heated pyrolysis can be performed in a continuous operation, and the apparatus described which is fitted with magnetrons capable of delivering 5 kW of microwave power is capable of treating waste oil at a feed rate of 5 kg/h with a positive energy ratio of 8 (energy content of hydrocarbon products/electrical energy supplied for microwave heating) and a net energy output of 179,390 kJ/h. Our results indicate that microwave-heated pyrolysis shows exceptional promise as a means for recycling and treating problematic waste oil.     

固有碳酸盐和硅酸盐对太姥油页岩热解产物的影响

通过逐级酸洗脱除新疆太姥油页岩中的碳酸盐和硅酸盐矿物,采用铝甑炉对油页岩原样和脱矿样进行热解,分析油气产物的组成性质,基于产物产率和性质考察了固有矿物质对油页岩热解的影响。结果表明,碳酸盐能促进热解生油,且使页岩油中含氮、氧化合物含量增大,硅酸盐则抑制热解生油,并抑制含氧化合物的生成,二者均使页岩油的H/C降低。硅酸盐可促进烷基自由基与氢自由基的结合,使页岩油中烷烃含量升高、烯烃含量降低,且使H₂产率减小,并能催化长链脂肪烃的裂解,使页岩油中长链烃含量降低、短链烃含量升高,且使烃类气体产率增大,而碳酸盐则抑制自由基的结合和长链脂肪烃的裂解。     

Fe-Zn共改性ZSM-5催化作用下生物质快速热解特性研究

选取木屑和花生壳作为原料进行生物质热解,研究有机产物分布,催化剂使用Fe、Zn两种金属元素进行改性。通过X射线衍射（XRD）、扫描电镜（SEM）、傅里叶红外（FT-IR）、比表面积测试（BET）对Fe-Zn改性的ZSM-5进行分析。使用闪速裂解-气质联用仪（PY-GC/MS）对原料进行热解,探究生物质催化热解的产物分布变化。催化剂的使用使得芳烃类产物产率获得较大提升,在木屑热解中,Fe负载的分子筛催化获得了酚类的最高产率,比ZSM-5催化热解产率提升18.30%。金属改性催化剂在花生壳热解中,大幅提升了芳烃类产物产率,其中Zn负载催化剂芳烃类产物产率最高,Zn负载催化热解比直接热解的酚类产率降低了18.92%。Zn负载催化获得了最低的酮类产率,与直接热解相比酮类产率降低19.74%,显示出较强的脱羟基效果。此外Zn负载催化和Fe-Zn双金属负载催化在花生壳热解中都大幅降低了酸类产物产率,与直接热解相比酸类产率分别降低了30.46%、36.71%。     

Investigations into the characteristics of oils produced from co-pyrolysis of biomass and tire

Co-pyrolysis of wood biomass and waste tire with such catalysts as SBA-15, MCM-41 and HZSM-5 was carried out in a fixed-bed reactor. The influences of the mixture composition on liquid yield and characteristics of the oil were investigated. The properties of the oil were determined by gel permeation chromatograph (GPC), elemental analyzer (EA), thermal analyzer (TA), densimeter, ubbelohde viscosimeter and compared with that of diesel oil 0#. The contents of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the oils were also determined by gas chromatograph (GC). The result shows that co-pyrolysis is in favor of inhibiting the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced from tire. There exist a hydrogen transfer and a synthetic effect during co-pyrolysis of the biomass and tire. They improve the quality of the oil. SBA-15 as a catalyst is more significant than MCM-41 or HZSM-5 for reducing the density and viscosity of the oil and it can effectively decompose some large molecular compounds into small ones.     

生物质裂解油催化裂解精制

在HZSM-5催化剂存在的条件下，生物质裂解油在固定床反应器内进行了催化裂解. 实验研究了精制生物油的产率受温度、催化剂粒度、质量空速、溶剂诸因素的影响程度. 在较佳的反应条件下，即质量空速3.7 h-1、温度380℃时，获得了较高的精制生物油产率(44.68%). 产物分析表明，精制油中的含氧化合物如有机酸、酯、醇、酮、醛的含量大大降低，而不含氧的芳香族碳氢化合物和多环芳香碳氢化合物含量有所增加.     

Catalytic pyrolysis of waste rice husk over mesoporous materials

Catalytic fast pyrolysis of waste rice husk was carried out using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry [Py-GC/MS]. Meso-MFI zeolite [Meso-MFI] was used as the catalyst. In addition, a 0.5-wt.% platinum [Pt] was ion-exchanged into Meso-MFI to examine the effect of Pt addition. Using a catalytic upgrading method, the activities of the catalysts were evaluated in terms of product composition and deoxygenation. The structure and acid site characteristics of the catalysts were analyzed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurement and NH₃ temperature-programmed desorption analysis. Catalytic upgrading reduced the amount of oxygenates in the product vapor due to the cracking reaction of the catalysts. Levoglucosan, a polymeric oxygenate species, was completely decomposed without being detected. While the amount of heavy phenols was reduced by catalytic upgrading, the amount of light phenols was increased because of the catalytic cracking of heavy phenols into light phenols and aromatics. The amount of aromatics increased remarkably as a result of catalytic upgrading, which is attributed to the strong Brönsted acid sites and the shape selectivity of the Meso-MFI catalyst. The addition of Pt made the Meso-MFI catalyst even more active in deoxygenation and in the production of aromatics.     

注蒸汽条件下供氢催化改质稠油及其沥青质热分解性质

利用CWYF-Ⅰ型高压反应釜模拟热采条件下,以甲酸作为供氢体.以自制的油溶性有机镍盐为催化剂进行的稠油水热裂解反应.考察了供氢体的加入对催化水热裂解反应前后稠油黏度、族组成及硫含量的影响,并采用TG-DTA分析法对供氢催化改质反应前后稠油中沥青质的热转化行为进行了分析.结果表明,随着加入供氢体质量分数增加,供氢催化水热裂解后稠油降黏率增大,饱和烃、芳香烃含量增加,胶质,沥青质含量降低,同时硫含量下降.供氢催化水热裂解反应后的稠油中沥青质TG-DTA曲线分析表明,供氢催化水热裂解反应后稠油中沥青质失重量高于催化水热裂解反应前稠油中含有的沥青质的失重量.经过供氢催化水热裂解反应,稠油中沥青质的稳定性下降.     

Catalytic pyrolysis of biomass in inert and steam atmospheres

The objective of this study was to investigate thermal conversion of a perennial shrub, Euphorbia rigida biomass sample with catalyst in inert (N₂) and steam atmospheres. Experimental studies were conducted in a well swept fixed bed reactor with a heating rate of 7 °C/min to a final pyrolysis temperature of 550 °C and with a mean particle size of 0.55 mm in order to determine the effect of different atmospheres with various catalyst ratios on pyrolysis yields and characteristics. The catalyst ratios were 5%, 10% and 20% (w/w) under nitrogen atmosphere with flow rates of 50, 100, 200 and 400 cm³/min and steam atmosphere with well-swept velocities of 12, 25 and 52 cm³/min. The optimum oil yield was obtained as 32.1% at the nitrogen flow rate of 200 cm³/min, while it was obtained as 38.6% at steam flow rate of 25 cm³/min when a 10% catalyst by weight according to the biomass was used. Higher oil yields were observed when biomass sample was treated in steam atmosphere than in inert (N₂) atmosphere. The oil composition was then analysed by elemental analyses techniques such as IR and GC-MS. The oil products were also fractionated by column chromatography. The bio-oils obtained at both atmospheres contain mainly n-alkanes and alkenes, aromatic compounds; mainly benzene and derivatives and PAHs, nitrogenated compounds and ketones, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, phenols and triterpenoid compounds. More oxygenated compounds and less substituted alkanes and alkenes were obtained in catalytic pyrolysis of E. rigida in the steam atmosphere. The experimental and chemical characterisation results showed that the oil obtained from perennial shrub, E. rigida can be used as a potential source of renewable fuel and chemical feedstock.     

Improving hydrocarbons production via catalytic co-pyrolysis of torrefied-biomass with plastics and dual catalytic pyrolysis

To increase the low yield and selectivity of aromatic hydrocarbons during the biomass pyrolysis process, we torrefied the biomass and then co-pyrolyzing with plastics such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and polypropylene (PP) and also single and dual catalyst layouts were investigated by Py-GC/MS. The results showed that non-catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of raw bagasse (RBG) generated no aromatics. After torrefaction non-CFP of torrefied bagasse (TBG) generated low aromatic yield. Indicating that torrefaction would enhance the proportion of aromatics during the pyrolysis process. The CFP of TBG_200℃ and TBG_240℃ over ZSM-5 produced the total aromatic yield of 1.96 and 1.88 times higher, respectively, compared to non-CFP of TBG. Furthermore, the addition of plastic could increase H/Ceff ratio of the mixture, consequently, increase the yield of aromatic compounds. Among the various torrefied-bagasse/plastic mixtures, the CFP of TBG/EVA (7:3 ratio) mixture generated the highest the total aromatic yield of 7.7 times more than the CFP of TBG alone. The dual catalyst layout could enhance the yield of aromatics hydrocarbons. The dual-catalytic co-pyrolysis of TBG_200℃/plastic (1:1) ratio over USY (ultra-stable Y zeolite)/ZSM-5, improved the total aromatics yield by 4.33 times more than the catalytic pyrolysis of TBG_200oC alone over ZSM-5 catalyst. The above results showed that the yield and selectivities of light aromatic hydrocarbons can be improved via catalytic co-pyrolysis and dual catalytic co-pyrolysis of torrefied-biomass with plastics.     

Coal Pyrolysis in a Laboratory‐Scale Two‐Stage Reactor: Catalytic Upgrading of Pyrolytic Vapors

In situ upgrading of coal pyrolysis vapors over Ce/Zr/Ni and Ce/Zr/Ni/Zn catalysts was studied in a two‐stage reactor. The catalytic effects of Ce/Zr/Ni and Ce/Zr/Ni/Zn on the pyrolysis products were examined, revealing that CO₂, CO, and H₂ were dramatically increased and pyrolytic water was decreased when using these catalysts. The tar collected in the cooling traps showed a slight increase after catalysis. Compared to the no‐catalyst condition, heterocyclic compounds and multicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the tar were significantly reduced, and benzene derivatives and aliphatics were increased. The molar ratio of H/C in tar was analyzed to further evaluate the tar quality. Possible reaction routes are proposed.     

Structural analysis of tars from fluidized-bed pyrolysis of coal. 1. Gas-liquid chromatography of aliphatic and aromatic subfractions

The effect of pyrolysing gas composition on the low-molecular-weight aliphatic and aromatic components of fluidized-bed tars has been investigated. Two tars from the rapid pyrolysis of coal in a fluidized-bed were solvent-fractionated into oils, asphaltenes and benzene-insoluble materials. The aliphatic and low-molecular-weight aromatic subfractions of the oils were then analysed by glass-capillary column gas-liquid chromatography. The results show that pyrolysis in a more active atmosphere of char gasification gases is ‘deeper’, and, to some extent, similar to hydrogen-assisted pyrolysis; the yield of tar is higher, and the product has higher aromaticity and average molecular weight compared with pyrolysis in nitrogen-rich flue gases.     

Pyrolysis of two different biomass samples in a fixed-bed reactor combined with two different catalysts

Pyrolysis of Euphorbia rigida and sesame stalk biomass samples with two selected commercial catalyst, namely DHC-32 and HC-K 1.3Q, have been conducted in a fixed-bed reactor. The effect of different catalysts and their ratio (5, 10 and 20% w/w) and pyrolysis temperature (500 and 750 °C) on the pyrolysis product yields were investigated and the obtained results were compared with similar experiments without catalyst. Bio-oil yield was increased comparing with non-catalytic experiments, at final pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C for both biomass samples and catalysts. In the catalytic experiments; when the temperature reached to 750 °C, although bio-oil product yield was reduced, the gas product yield was increased comparing with non-catalytic experiments.The pyrolysis oils were examined using spectroscopic and chromatographic analyses and then fractioned by column chromatography. Although the aliphatic and aromatic fractions were decreased and polar fraction was increased with catalytic pyrolysis of E. rigida; an opposite trend was observed in the sesame stalk pyrolysis oil, comparing with non-catalytic results.Obtained results were compared with petroleum fractions and determined the possibility of being a potential source of renewable fuels.