Hydro-Pyrolysis and Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass and Its Hydroxy Residue Fast Pyrolysis Vapors

oleh: Yichen Liu, James J. Leahy, Jacek Grams, Witold Kwapinski

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-09-01

Deskripsi

Fast pyrolysis of Miscanthus, its hydrolysis residue and lignin were carried with a pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) followed by online vapor catalytic upgrading with sulfated ZrO<sub>2</sub>, sulfated TiO<sub>2</sub> and sulfated 60 wt.% ZrO<sub>2</sub>-TiO<sub>2</sub>. The most evident influence of the catalyst on the vapor phase composition was observed for aromatic hydrocarbons, light phenols and heavy phenols. A larger amount of light phenols was detected, especially when 60 wt.% ZrO<sub>2</sub>-TiO<sub>2</sub> was present. Thus, a lower average molecular weight and lower viscosity of bio-oil could be obtained with this catalyst. Pyrolysis was also performed at different pressures of hydrogen. The pressure of H2 has a great effect on the overall yield and the composition of biomass vapors. The peak area percentages of both aromatic hydrocarbons and cyclo-alkanes are enhanced with the increasing of H2 pressure. The overall yields are higher with the addition of either H<sub>2</sub> or sulfated catalysts. This is beneficial as phenols are valuable chemicals, thus, increasing the value of bio-oil. The results show that the hydrolysis residue has the potential to become a resource for phenol production.