Catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae over metal incorporated mesoporous SBA-15 with high hydrothermal stability

Abstract

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is one of the most promising technologies for conversion of microalgae, and catalysts with high hydrothermal stability are required for controllable HTL. In this article, SBA-15 incorporated with transition metals (Ni, Pd, Co and Ru) were synthetized via double-template method for catalytic HTL of microalgae. The results showed that metal incorporated SBA-15 represented high hydrothermal stability at 613 K. The incorporated Ni, Co and Ru was dispersed in SBA-15 enhancing the hydrothermal stability. The catalysts greatly influenced the chemical composition of the obtained bio-oil, which contained a higher percentage of furfural derivatives and a lower content of fatty acids and N-containing compounds, thus bio-oil quality was improved significantly. Higher hydrothermal stability and specific surface areas of Co-SBA-15 contribute to the highest preformation with 78.78% conversion and 24.11 wt% bio-oil yield. Metal incorporated SBA-15 provides a potential application for biomass conversion in high-temperature aqueous phase.