Single-step conversion of sugarcane bagasse to biofuel over Mo-supported graphene oxide nanocatalyst

Abstract

Along with the great efforts in producing clean and low-cost fuel and chemicals, in this work, novel nanocatalysts are reported for the fast pyrolysis of the bagasse. To this end, different catalyst supports were employed to load Mo oxides or sulfides through incipient wetness impregnation. The prepared nanocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction to determine the formed phases, N2 adsorption/desorption to clarify the surface properties, and SEM to observe the morphology and energy-dispersive X-ray to provide the atomic mapping. A series of nanocatalysts including the Mo sulfide loaded over graphene oxide (MoS2/GrO) or porous graphene (MoS2/graphene), Mo oxide loaded over charcoal, and Co-Mo oxide loaded over MgO were studied in the fast pyrolysis of the bagasse. The results revealed that the use of catalyst decreased the bio-oil yield of the process. Interestingly, it was found the fast pyrolysis of the bagasse is dependent on the used catalysts and the fractions of bio-oil can be determined according the catalysts types. It was found that with accordance to the demanded chemicals, the catalysts can be chosen which is highly valuable in producing chemicals and each catalysts support results in a specific set of products. In general, the acetic acid was the main product without using catalyst, and by using the MoS2/GrO nanocatalyst, the phenols were formed dominantly which are of great importance in different industries. This novel work successfully revealed that the metal-based catalysts can be employed instead of the zeolites which paves the way toward using low-cost metallic catalysts in producing bio-chemicals and bio-oils.