Preparation of bio-oil derived from catalytic upgrading of biomass vacuum pyrolysis vapor over metal-loaded HZSM-5 zeolites

The Fe-, Co-, Cu-loaded HZSM-5 zeolites were prepared via impregnation method. The upgrading by catalyst on biomass pyrolysis vapors was conducted over modified zeolites to investigate their catalytic upgrading performance and anti-coking performance. The Brønsted acid sites amount on Cu-,Co-loaded HZSM-5 decreased sharply, while that of Lewis both increased. The yield of liquid fraction and refined bio-oil over metal loaded ZSM-5 catalysts decreased, while that of char almost kept constant. The physical property of refined bio-oil was promoted in terms of pH value, dynamic viscosity and higher heating value (HHV). FT-IR analysis revealed that the chemical structure of refined bio-oil obtained over Fe-, Co-, Cu-loaded HZSM-5 zeolites was highly similar. The yield of monocyclic aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon over Fe-,Co-loaded HZSM-5 were boosted by around 2.5 times compared with original ZSM-5 zeolites. Data analysis revealed that Cu/HZSM-5 presented the worst deoxygenation ability. The anti-coking capability of Fe/HZSM-5 was obviously better, i.e., the coke content showed an approximate decrease of 38%. Thus, this study provided an efficient Fe/HZSM-5 catalysts for preparation of bio-oil derived from catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapor.     

Upgrading of a wood-derived oil over various catalysts

The upgrading of a bio-oil using a fixed bed micro-reactor operating at 1 atm, 3.6 WHSV and 330–410°C over various catalysts is reported. The catalysts used were HZSM-5, silicalite, H-mordenite, H-Y and silica-alumina. The yield of hydrocarbons as well as the extent of deoxygenation, coke formation and conversion of the non-volatile portion of the bio-oil were used as measures of catalyst performance. The maximum hydrocarbon yield when HZSM-5 was used occurred at 370°C and was 39.3 wt% of the bio-oil. For the other catalysts, the hydrocarbon yields increased with temperature and were up to 22.1 wt% for silicalite; 27.5 wt% for H-mordenite; 21.0 wt% for H-Y; and 26.2 wt% for silica-alumina at 410°C. The hydrocarbon selectivity with HZSM-5 and silicalite catalysts was mostly for gasoline range hydrocarbons (C₆ to C₁₂) and for H-mordenite and H-Y for kerosene range hydrocarbons (C₉ to C₁₅). The hydrocarbon fraction obtained with silica-alumina did not produce any defined distribution. The pore size, catalyst acidity and catalyst shape selectively affected the product distribution. The overall performance followed the order: HZSM-5 > H-mordenite > H/Y > silica-alumina, silicalite.     

Upgrading of fast pyrolysis bio-oil over Fe modified ZSM-5 catalyst to enhance the formation of phenolic compounds

The present study is aimed to investigate the upgrading of beech sawdust pyrolysis bio-oil through catalytic cracking of its vapors over Fe-modified ZSM-5 zeolite in a fixed bed tubular reactor. The zeolite supported iron catalyst was successfully prepared with varying metal loading ratios (1, 5, 10 wt%) via dry impregnation method and further characterized by BET, XRD, and SEM-EDX techniques. TG/FT-IR/MS analysis was used for the detection of biomass thermal degradation. Product yields of non-catalytic and catalytic pyrolysis experiments were determined and the obtained results show that bio-oil yields decreased in the presence of catalysts. Besides, the bio-oil composition is characterized by GC/MS. It was indicated that the entity of the ZSM-5 and Fe/ZSM-5 catalyst reveal a significant enhancement quality of the pyrolysis products in comparison with non-catalytic experiment. The catalyst increased oxygen removal from the organic phase of bio-oil and further developed the production of desirable products such as phenolics and aromatic compounds.     

Catalytic copyrolysis of metal impregnated biomass and plastic with Ni-based HZSM-5 catalyst: Synergistic effects,kinetics and product distribution

The present work aims to investigate the thermal behavior, kinetics, thermodynamics, and product distribution during copyrolysis of transition metal salt (Ni, Co, Zn, Cu, and Fe)-added biomass and model compounds with low density polyethylene(LDPE) over a Ni-based HZSM-5 catalyst by TGA and fixed bed reactor. The interactions and reaction mechanisms during copyrolysis were evaluated. The influence of Ni-impregnated biomass (C-M) and Ni-modified HZSM-5 (Ni/HZ) on the formation of pyrolysis bio-oil from biomass and model compounds and its subsequent effect on catalytic pyrolysis vapor upgrading was discussed. The results indicated that the presence of transition metal decreased the thermal degradation temperature and thermodynamics parameters; maximum decomposition rate, and reaction complexity. Ni/HZ catalyst could further decrease the activation energy, accelerate the reaction rate and change reaction process, and the modified samples/LDPE under copyrolysis with HZSM-5 catalyst presented a more significant effect than Ni/HZ catalyst. Subsequently, the Ea of pine, cellulose and lignin changed from 24.11, 18.29, and 28.68 kJ/mol (CP@Ni/HZ) to 56.04, 69.84, and 16.21 kJ/mol (CP-Ni@HZSM-5), respectively. In addition, Ni could inhibit the depolymerization of cellulose and promoted the formation of char, coke, and lignin derived phenolics. And Ni-impregnated biomass reduced the formation of desired aromatic hydrocarbons, but result in increasing of the char and non-condensable gases. But Ni/HZ catalysts promote the conversion of biomass to target products.     

In situ hydrodeoxygenation upgrading of pine sawdust bio-oil to hydrocarbon biofuel using Pd/C catalyst

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is effective for upgrading bio-oil to biofuel. However, the upgrading cost increased due to the high consumption of external hydrogen. In this paper, the hydrogen generated from cheap water using zinc hydrolysis for in situ bio-oil HDO was reported. The effect of different temperatures (200 °C, 250 °C and 300 °C) on bio-oil HDO over Pd/C catalyst was investigated in a batch reactor. The results show that 250 °C yielded biofuel with the highest heating value at 30.17 MJ/kg and the highest hydrocarbons content at 24.09%. Physicochemical properties including heating value, total acid number and chemical compositions of the produced biofuels improved significantly in comparison with that of the original bio-oil.     

Tailoring Cu/Al2O3 catalysts for the catalytic pyrolysis of tomato waste

In this study, pyrolysis of tomato waste has been performed in fixed bed tubular reactor at 500 °C, both in absence and presence of Cu/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The influences of heating rate, catalyst preparation method and catalyst loading on bio-oil yields and properties were examined. According to pyrolysis experiments, the highest bio-oil yield was obtained as 30.31% with a heating rate of 100 °C/min, 5% Cu/Al₂O₃ catalyst loading ratio and co-precipitation method. Results showed that the catalysts have strong positive effect on bio-oil yields. Bio-oil quality obtained from fast catalytic pyrolysis was more favorable than that obtained from non-catalytic and slow catalytic pyrolysis.     

In-situ catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived vapors using HZSM-5 and MCM-41: Effects of mixing ratios on bio-oil preparation

In this paper, two molecular sieves with different pore sizes, namely HZSM-5 and MCM-41, were mixed using different ratios and used in the in-situ catalytic pyrolysis of rape straw. The effects of different HZSM -5 and MCM -41 mixing ratios on the quality of the bio-oil were studied by physicochemical properties, product yields and compositions. Moreover, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) catalyst analysis was performed. The results showed that the liquid yield and organic phase decreased first and then increased, whereas the gas yield showed an opposite trend. The density, O/C and kinematic viscosity of the bio-oil organic phase decreased first then increased, whereas the H/C, pH values and higher heating values initially increased, then declined. The oxygen content, H/C, O/C, kinematic viscosity, density, higher heating value and pH value of the bio-oil organic phase obtained at 1:1 mixed ratio were 12.81%, 1.701, 0.126, 5.06 mm²/s, 0.94 g/cm³, 34.31 MJ/kg and 5.41, respectively. The organic phase included numerous organic compounds, such as carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers and esters. The hydrocarbon content in the bio-oil organic phase gradually increased and the carbonyl groups content gradually decreased as the MCM-41 content increased from 0 to 50%. In contrast, the hydrocarbon content gradually decreased and the carbonyl groups content gradually increased as the MCM-41 content increased from 50% to 100%. The hydrocarbon and carbonyl groups contents were 53.83% and 6.35%, respectively, at the MCM-41 content of 50%. The mixed catalyst activity increased with the increase in MCM-41 content (up to 50%), and tended to be stable once the MCM-41 contents surpassed 50%.     

A comparative study on the quality of bioproducts derived from catalytic pyrolysis of green microalgae Spirulina (Arthrospira) plantensis over transition metals supported on HMS-ZSM5 composite

This study investigated three different types of catalysts: Ni/HMS-ZSM5, Fe/HMS-ZSM5, and Ce/HMS-ZSM5 in the thermochemical decomposition of green microalgae Spirulina (Arthrospira) plantensis. First, non-catalytic pyrolysis tests were conducted in a temperature ranges of 400–700 °C in a dual-bed pyrolysis reactor. The optimum temperature for maximized liquid yield was determined as 500 °C. Then, the influence of acid washing on bio-products upgrading was studied at the optimum temperature. Compared to the product yields from the pyrolysis of raw spirulina, a higher bio-oil yield (from 34.488 to 37.778 %wt.) and a lower bio-char yield (from 37 to 35 %wt.) were observed for pretreated spirulina, indicating that pretreatment promoted the formation of bio-oil, while it inhibited the formation of biochar from biomass pyrolysis. Finally, catalytic pyrolysis experiments of pretreated-spirulina resulted that Fe as an active phase in catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity, toward producing hydrocarbons and the highest hydrogen yield (3.81 mmol/gr spirulina).     

Analysis of coke precursor on catalyst and study on regeneration of catalyst in upgrading of bio-oil

Catalyst HZSM-5 was used in bio-oil catalytic cracking upgrading. The precursor of coke on the catalyst was analyzed by means of TGA, FTIR and C13 NMR. Precursors of coke deposited in the pore of the molecular sieve were mainly aromatic hydrocarbon with the boiling point range from 350 °C to 650 °C. Those on the outer surface of the pellet precursor were identified as saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons with the boiling point below 200 °C. The activity of HZSM-5 was studied after regeneration. In terms of yield of organic distillate and formation rate of coke, results showed that catalytic activity change moderately during the first three times of regeneration.     

Catalytic conversion of particle board over microporous catalysts

Catalytic pyrolysis of particle board, a type of waste wood that is increasingly produced all over the world, was carried out over three types of zeolite catalysts: HBETA, HZSM-5, and Ga-impregnated HZSM-5 (Ga/HZSM-5). Experiments conducted using a batch reactor showed that the bio-oil yield and gas yield in catalytic pyrolysis were lower and higher than those in non-catalytic pyrolysis, respectively. Analysis of the bio-oil using pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) showed that the yields of high-value-added species such as aromatics and phenolics were increased to a large extent by catalytic upgrading, thus increasing the value of the product bio-oil. In particular, HZSM-5 exhibited high selectivity for aromatic compounds, and impregnation of Ga further increased the selectivity. HBETA could cause levoglucosans to decompose completely owing to its large pore size, resulting in increased yields of low-molecular-mass species.     

Insights into pyrolysis and catalytic co-pyrolysis upgrading of biomass and waste rubber seed oil to promote the formation of aromatics hydrocarbon

To solve the problem of low aromatic hydrocarbon yield and selectivity in biomass catalytic pyrolysis, we used added oxygen-containing hydrogen supplier of rubber seed oil (RSO) with a higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratio to investigate the thermal decomposition behaviors, kinetic and production distribution of biomass, cellulose and RSO with the weight ratio of 1:2 using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) for kinetic analysis and fixed bed reactor with the feed composition of 1.2 g: 0.4 mL/min (Biomass to RSO) for product distribution in non-catalytic and catalytic co-pyrolysis over a HZSM-5 catalyst. The results show that there was a positive synergistic interaction between biomass and RSO according to the difference in weight loss, which could decrease the formation of solid coke at the end of experiment. The addition of the HZSM-5 catalyst can markedly increase the reaction activity, accelerate the reaction rate, and the reaction Ea, leading to a substantial increase in the conversion rate; furthermore, the residual carbon content will decrease, and the activations of Cellulose + RSO + Catalyst and Biomass + RSO + Catalyst are only 50.80 kJ/mol and 62.36 kJ/mol, respectively. The kinetic analysis showed that adding a catalyst did not change the decomposition mechanism. Co-pyrolysis of biomass and RSO could effectively improve the yield and selectivity of aromatics, when the pyrolysis temperature and catalytic temperature were 550 °C and 500 °C, respectively, the mass space velocity of RSO was 0.4 mL/min, the reaction time was 30min, the yields of benzene, toluene, xylene and ethyl benzene (BTXE) were up to 78.77%, and the selectivity of benzene, toluene and xylene was much better. Finally, the coke yield was substantially lower.     

Selective catalytic fast pyrolysis of Jatropha curcas residue with metal oxide impregnated activated carbon for upgrading bio-oil

Jatropha curcas waste was subjected to catalytic pyrolysis at 873 K using an analytical pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in order to investigate the relative effect of various metal oxide/activated carbon (M/AC) catalysts on upgrading bio-oil from fast pyrolysis vapors of Jatropha waste residue. A commercial AC support was impregnated with Ce, Pd, Ru or Ni salts and calcined at 523 K to yield the 5 wt.% M/AC catalysts, which were then evaluated for their catalytic deoxygenation ability and selectivity towards desirable compounds. Without a catalyst, the main vapor products were fatty acids of 60.74% (area of GC/MS chromatogram), while aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds were presented at only 11.32%. Catalytic pyrolysis with the AC and the M/AC catalysts reduced the oxygen-containing (including carboxylic acids) products in the pyrolytic vapors from 73.68% (no catalyst) to 1.60–36.25%, with Ce/AC being the most effective catalyst. Increasing the Jatropha waste residue to catalyst (J/C) ratio to 1:10 increased the aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon yields in the order of Ce/AC > AC > Pd/AC > Ni/AC, with the highest total hydrocarbon proportion obtained being 86.57%. Thus, these catalysts were effective for deoxygenation of the pyrolysis vapors to form hydrocarbons, with Ce/AC, which promotes aromatics, Pd/AC and Ni/AC as promising catalysts. In addition, only a low yield (0.62–7.80%) of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was obtained in the catalytic fast pyrolysis (highest with AC), which is one advantage of applying these catalysts to the pyrolysis process. The overall performance of these catalysts was acceptable and they can be considered for upgrading bio-oil.     

Desulfurization and tar reforming of biogenous syngas over Ni/olivine in a decoupled dual loop gasifier

For the production of bio-SNG (substitute natural gas) from syngas of biomass steam gasification, trace amounts of sulfur and tar compounds in raw syngas must be removed. In present work, biomass gasification and in-bed raw gas upgrading have been performed in a decoupled dual loop gasifier (DDLG), with aggregation-resistant nickel supported on calcined olivine (Ni/olivine) as the upgrading catalyst for simultaneous desulfurization and tar elimination of biogenous syngas. The effects of catalyst preparation, upgrading temperature and steam content of raw syngas on sulfur removal were investigated and the catalytic tar reforming at different temperatures was evaluated as well. It was found that 850 °C calcined Ni/olivine was efficient for both inorganic-sulfur (H₂S) and organic-sulfur (thiophene) removal at 600–680 °C and the excellent desulfurization performance was maintained with wide range H₂O content (27.0–40.7%). Meanwhile, tar was mostly eliminated and H₂ content increased much in the same temperature range. The favorable results indicate that biomass gasification in DDLG with Ni/olivine as the upgrading bed material could be a promising approach to produce qualified biogenous syngas for bio-SNG production and other syngas-derived applications in electric power, heat or fuels.     

Kinetic study of the catalytic reforming of biomass pyrolysis volatiles over a commercial Ni/Al2O3 catalyst

An original kinetic model has been proposed for the reforming of the volatiles derived from biomass fast pyrolysis over a commercial Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The pyrolysis-reforming strategy consists of two in-line steps. The pyrolysis step is performed in a conical spouted bed reactor (CSBR) at 500 °C, and the catalytic steam reforming of the volatiles has been carried out in-line in a fluidized bed reactor. The reforming conditions are as follows: 600, 650 and 700 °C; catalyst mass, 0, 1.6, 3.1, 6.3, 9.4 and 12.5 g; steam/biomass ratio, 4, and; time on stream, up to 120 min. The integration of the kinetic equations has been carried out using a code developed in Matlab. The reaction scheme takes into account the individual steps of steam reforming of bio-oil oxygenated compounds, CH₄ and C₂-C₄ hydrocarbons, and the WGS reaction. Moreover, a kinetic equation for deactivation has been derived, in which the bio-oil oxygenated compounds have been considered as the main coke precursors. The kinetic model allows quantifying the effect reforming conditions (temperature, catalyst mass and time on stream) have on product distribution.     

Ni–Mo nanoparticles stabilized by ether functionalized ionic polymer: A novel and efficient catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation of 4-methylanisole as a representative of lignin-derived pyrolysis bio-oils

In the present study, nickel-molybdenum nanoparticles stabilized with ether functionalized ionic polymer were synthesized and utilized as a novel and efficient catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation of 4-methylanisole as a representative of lignin-derived bio-oil. The catalytic upgrading process was performed in the presence of hydrogen with a batch reactor at temperature of 80–200 °C, hydrogen pressure of 10–50 bar, reaction time of 0.5–15 h and catalyst loading of 1–5 mol%. The major reaction classes during 4-methylanisole upgrading were hydrodeoxygenation and hydrogenolysis which resulted in production of 4-methylphenol, toluene, phenol and benzene as the main products. The experimental results indicated that the catalytic activity of Ni–Mo (20%–80%) nanoparticles stabilized with ionic polymer is superior to that with low Mo content. Also, it is observed that the selectivity of deoxygenated products including toluene and benzene improves with increasing the Mo content of the catalyst. Finally, regarding to the excellent catalytic activity of synthesized nanocatalyst during upgrading process of bio-oil at mild operating condition, ether functionalized ionic polymer was introduced as an applicable and effective stabilizers for nickel-molybdenum nanoparticles.     

生物质裂解油催化裂解精制机理研究(Ⅱ)——生物质油沥青质的分子模型

测定生物质裂解油和催化裂解精制油沥青质的平均分子质量和元素含量,计算两种沥青质基本结构单元的平均分子式。通过1H-NMR,13C-NMR波谱计算得到一系列平均结构参数,建立生物质裂解油和催化裂解精制油沥青质的分子模型,并用傅里叶变换红外光谱进行验证。分析结果表明:精制后的催化裂解精制油的沥青质含量减少,分子量降低,含氧官能团明显少于生物质裂解油沥青质,而芳环数目增加。由此可见,经过精制反应后的催化裂解精制油沥青质的分子量变小,氧含量降低,芳香度增加,从而会影响生物质油的品质。     

Upgrading of fast pyrolysis bio-oil to drop-in fuel over Ru catalysts

Catalyst plays a key role in the upgrading of fast pyrolysis bio-oil to advanced drop-in fuel, while the selectivity and deactivation of catalyst still remain the biggest challenge. In this study, three Ru catalysts with activated carbon, Al₂O₃ and ZSM-5 as supports were prepared and tested in bio-oil hydrotreating process. The physical properties and components of upgraded bio-oil were detected to identify the difference in catalytic performance of three catalysts. The results showed that furan, phenols and their derivatives in fast pyrolysis bio-oil could be hydrogenated to alkanes, alkenes and benzenes over Ru catalysts. The different components of oil phase over three catalysts may be resulted from the surface properties of three supports. Activated carbon supported Ru catalyst showed the best catalytic performance and was suggested to be the most promising catalyst for pyrolysis bio-oil upgrading.     

Ga改性HZSM-5分子筛催化2-甲基呋喃和甲醇制备芳香烃

采用等体积浸渍法在HZSM-5分子筛上引入Ga₂O₃，探究Ga改性HZSM-5分子筛对2-甲基呋喃（MF）和甲醇在固定床反应器中进行偶合反应的产物分布的影响。采用XRD、HTEM、BET和NH₃-TPD对催化剂的理化性质进行表征，结果显示，Ga的负载使得HZSM-5比表面积和孔容减小，改变了HZSM-5的酸类型及酸位强度分布。偶合反应结果表明，Ga的负载能够促进MF和甲醇的转化，Ga/HZSM-5不仅可以提高芳香烃的产率，而且提高了芳香烃产物中BTX的选择性。与HZSM-5相比，0.1%Ga/HZSM-5在反应温度为500℃、MF与甲醇摩尔比为1∶2、WHSV为2 h⁻¹反应条件下，使芳香烃产率从14.6%提高到23.7%，而BTX的选择性则从55.2%提高到67.8%。     

Microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose for phenol-rich bio-oil production

The microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis (MACP) of cellulose was carried out using modified HZSM-5 catalysts for bio-oil production. The catalysts of Fe/HZSM-5, Ni/HZSM-5 and Fe–Ni/HZSM-5 were developed and characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The bio-oil was characterized by the Fourier transform infrared analyzer (FTIR) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results showed that Fe/HZSM-5 enhanced the yields of bio-oil by 11.4% and decreased the coke by about 24% compared to HZSM-5 without modification. The saccharides in bio-oil disappeared and were totally converted into phenols and low molecular compounds with the catalysis of Fe–Ni/HZSM-5. Fe–Ni/HZSM-5 showed high selectivity of phenols (20.86%) in the bio-oil. It was a unique finding because usually phenols can only be obtained by the pyrolysis of lignin, not cellulose. The formation of phenols from MACP of cellulose was probably caused by the conversion of furans to aromatics in the pores of HZSM-5, and followed by further conversion of aromatics into phenols on the external surface of HZSM-5.     

Catalytic hydrotreating of pyro-oil derived from green microalgae spirulina the (Arthrospira) plantensis over NiMo catalysts impregnated over a novel hybrid support

Upgrading of pyrolysis bio-oil by a novel catalytic hydrotreating process, including hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) was found as an effective technical method for the improvement of biofuel characteristics. In this study, for the first time, the performance of a novel meso-microporous composite material, HMS-ZSM-5, as a support on the catalytic activity of NiMo-based catalysts in the bio-oil hydrotreating was evaluated. The experiments were carried out in a flow fixed-bed reactor at the temperature range of 300–360 °C, 30 bar pressure, and LHSV = 4 h-1. Also, the results were and compared with those of HMS, ZSM-5, and γ-Al2O3 supports. For all catalysts, the increase in temperature resulted in the enhancement of HDO and HDN reactions efficiency. NiMo/HMS-ZSM-5 possessed a high acid property which contributed to the removal of oxygen and nitrogen from bio-oil, with the conversion of 84.10% and 69.60%, respectively. Therefore, the novel catalyst of this study represented much superior upgrading performances compared with those of stand-alone NiMo/HMS and NiMo/ZSM-5 catalysts and also the conventional catalyst of NiMo/γ-Al2O3.