Production of hydrocarbons from biomass-derived biochar assisted microwave catalytic pyrolysis. Issue 8 (13th June 2018) - Zhu, Lei
Abstract : A new route of phenol and hydrocarbon production through biomass microwave-induced pyrolysis over home-made biochar catalysts has been developed. Abstract : In the present study, in situ catalytic pyrolysis of Douglas fir pellets was performed in a microwave reactor. A biochar catalyst derived from corn stover biochar was prepared for the experiment. The results showed that the highest amounts of hydrocarbons (52.77% of bio-oil) were achieved from microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis over the biochar catalyst at a reaction temperature of 480 °C. A non-condensable gas enriched in H2, CO, and CO2 was observed and analyzed by micro-GC. The amounts of H2 and CO increased during catalytic pyrolysis compared to the non-catalytic runs. GC/MS analysis results showed that the quantity of lignin-derived guaiacols decreased dramatically with the increase of the ratio of catalyst to biomass. The biochar catalyst exhibited good selectivity towards hydrocarbon and phenol compounds, simplifying the chemical composition, reducing undesirable compounds and producing pyrolysis oil in an acceptable yield. The reaction mechanism for hydrocarbon production from catalytic pyrolysis was also analyzed.