Recovery of liquid fuel from the aqueous phase of pyrolysis oil using catalytic conversion

Oil from the pyrolysis of biomass typically consists of two different layers defined as the aqueous and organic phases. The objective of this study was to determine the yield of liquid fuel that can be produced from the aqueous phase using a catalytic conversion. The process was supported by two different HZSM-5 catalysts with temperatures set at 405, 455, 505, and 555 °C. The oils obtained were then analyzed using Karl Fischer titration, FTIR spectroscopy, GC/MS, TGA, and CHNS/O analysis. The results showed that the oil yields obtained from catalytic cracking of the aqueous phase ranged from 4 to 9.16 wt % depending on the catalyst type and temperature. The optimum performance of deoxygenation activity was obtained with the HZSM-5/50 catalyst at a temperature of 555 °C. The oil produced under the optimum conditions was dominated by aromatics and phenols and had an HHV of 38.44 MJ/kg. © 2014 American Chemical Society

Catalytic Upgrading of Bio-oil over Ni-Based Catalysts Supported on Mixed Oxides

Ni-Based catalysts using mixed oxides of Al2O3-SiO2, Al2O3-TiO2, TiO2-SiO2, and TiO2-ZrO2 as supports were evaluated for hydrotreatments using guaiacol as the model compound and characterized by N-2 physical adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD), and temperature-programmed reduction of hydrogen (H-2-TPR) techniques. The influence of the support, solvent, reaction temperature, and pressure on guaiacol conversion and product distributions were determined. Guaiacol conversion of 100% with cyclohexane selectivity of 86.4% was obtained over the Ni/TiO2-ZrO2 catalyst at the conditions of 300 degrees C, 4.0 MPa H-2 pressure, and decalin solvent. Furthermore, this system is also efficient for real bio-oil, where nearly 19.3% of the upgraded bio-oil yield was achieved under the optimal conditions determined for guaiacol. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that the principal components were phenolic compounds, while the content of acids and aldehydes was negligible. The pH of bio-oil increased from 2.38 to 4.21, and the high heating value drastically increased from 13.1 to 25.8 MJ/kg