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

Abstract

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 ZrO2, sulfated TiO2 and sulfated 60 wt.% ZrO2-TiO2. 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.% ZrO2-TiO2 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 H2 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.