Abstract
A series of NiO/HZSM-5 catalysts were used to convert alkali lignin to hydrocarbon biofuels in a two-stage catalytic pyrolysis system. The results indicated that all NiO/HZSM-5 catalysts reduced the content of undesirable phenols, furans, and alcohols of the biofuel compared to non-catalytic treatment. The NiO/HZSM-5 catalyst with the lowest amount of NiO generated the highest biofuel yield in all catalytic treatments, and it also produced biofuel with the highest content of hydrocarbons. The emission of carbon oxides (CO and CO2) increased in the treatments with higher-NiO loading HZSM-5 due to the redox reaction between NiO and the oxygenated compounds in the bio-oil. Ni2SiO4 was generated in the used NiO/HZSM-5 catalysts during the high-temperature pyrolysis process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1069-1077 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Chemical Engineering and Technology |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the NC Sun Grant Initiative (Grant No. SA0700149). The authors would like to thank Dr. Qiquan Qiao and Mr. Ashish Dubey for helping in the XRD analysis, Dr. Douglas Raynie and Ms. Changling Qiu for the GC-MS analysis, and Dr. Zhengrong Gu and Mr. Yuhe Cao for helping in the BET and NH3-TPD measurements. The XRD equipment is supported by an NSF MRI grant (Award No. 1229577). The authors have declared no conflict of interest.
Keywords
- Alkali lignin
- Biofuels
- Hydrocarbons
- Pyrolysis
- Zeolites