Investigation of Catalytic Pathways and Separations for Lignin Breakdown into Monomers and Fuels

J. McFarlane, J. A. Gluckstein, M. Hu, M. Kidder, C. Narula, M. Sturgeon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Lignin is primarily burned for heat and power in industrial processes, but its aromaticity and high energy content make it a promising source for liquid fuels, fuel additives, and chemical feedstocks. Conversion of lignin to monomers and smaller molecules can be done thermochemically through gasification; however, this process does not produce the desired fraction of liquid products, mainly yielding gases and char. In addition, such processing of lignin on a larger scale may encounter barriers, namely difficulty achieving selectivity of the conversion reactions and extensive requirements for separations, both before and after treatment of the material. A low temperature conversion of lignin may achieve better thermodynamic efficiency, provided a target catalyst can be used to generate a significant conversion of product. This project includes discussion of.

• the experimental evaluation of a number of different low temperature (20–30°C) catalytic pathways for the decompo sition of lignin into small molecules, and.

• the evaluation of flowsheets for lignin conversion in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, separation requirements, and technical feasibility.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2783-2796
Number of pages14
JournalSeparation Science and Technology (Philadelphia)
Volume49
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 22 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
©, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Funding

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of Energy

    Keywords

    • acidoloysis
    • ether cleavage
    • gasification
    • hydrodeoxygenation
    • hydrogenation
    • lignin thermochemical conversion
    • pyrolysis

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