Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass in a Fluidized Bed with Fresh and Spent Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Catalysts

Abstract

The conversion of biomass into bio-oil using fast pyrolysis technology is one of the most promising alternatives to convert biomass into liquid products. However, substituting bio-oil for conventional petroleum fuels directly may be problematic because of the high viscosity, high oxygen content, and strong thermal instability of bio-oil. The focus of the current research is decreasing the oxygen and polymerization precursor content of the obtained bio-oil to improve its thermal stability and heating value. Catalytic fast pyrolysis of corncob with different percentages (5, 10, 20, and 30% by volume) of fresh fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst (FC) and spent FCC catalyst (SC) in bed materials was conducted in a fluidized bed. The effects of the catalysts on the pyrolysis product yields and chemical composition of the bio-oil were investigated. A greater catalyst percentage lead to a lower bio-oil yield, while a lower catalyst percentage lead to little change of the composition of the bio-oil. The best percentages of FC and SC were 10 and 20%, respectively. FC showed more catalytic activation in converting oxygen into CO, CO2, and H2O than SC, but the oil fraction yield with FC was remarkably lower than that with SC because of more coke formation. The gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of the collected liquid in the second condenser showed that the most likely polymerization precursors, such as 2-methoxy-phenol, 2-methoxy-4-methyl-phenol, 4-ethyl-2-methoxy-phenol, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, and 2,6-dimethoxy-phenol decreased, while monofunctional phenols, ketones, and furans increased compared to that in the noncatalytic experiment. The hydrocarbons increased with the increase of the catalyst percentages, and this contributed to the decrease of the oxygen content of the bio-oil. Multi-stage condensation achieved a good separation of the oil fraction and water.