Integrated hydropyrolysis and vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation process with Pd/Al2O3 for production of advanced oxygen-containing biofuels from cellulosic wastes

Wang, Jia; Jiang, Jianchun; Li, Dongxian; Meng, Xianzhi; Ragauskas, Arthur J.

doi:10.1016/j.fuproc.2023.107948

Integrated hydropyrolysis and vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation process with Pd/Al₂O₃ for production of advanced oxygen-containing biofuels from cellulosic wastes

Journal Article · Sat Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Fuel Processing Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2023.107948· OSTI ID:2267628

Wang, Jia ^[1]; Jiang, Jianchun ^[1]; Li, Dongxian ^[1]; Meng, Xianzhi ^[2]; Ragauskas, Arthur J. ^[3]

Nanjing Forestry University (China); Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF), Nanjing (China)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

This study focuses on developing advanced oxygen-containing biofuels with high furan, cyclic ketone, and ethanol content from holocellulose and cellulosic wastes. To achieve this, we employed an integrated process that combined hydropyrolysis and vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation using Pd/Al₂O₃ as a catalyst. In the first stage, the non-catalytic hydropyrolysis of hemicellulose resulted in furfural and acetic acid fractions that were effectively converted into furans, cyclic ketones, and ethanol in the second-stage reactor over Pd/Al₂O₃ under 0.3 MPa H₂. We found that a hydropyrolysis temperature of 440 °C in the first stage reactor resulted in the highest yield of oxygen-containing biofuels (171.1 mg/g) with 89.2% hemicellulose conversion. However, increasing the hydrodeoxygenation temperature in the second stage reactor reduced the yield of oxygen-containing biofuels, and at 400 °C, excess deoxygenation led to hydrocarbon production. The Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst demonstrated high stability during the vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation of primary furfural and acetic acid intermediates, with only 2.1% coke formation after three reaction cycles. This scalable process enables the conversion of various cellulosic wastes into advanced oxygen-containing biofuels, with considerable total yields. Our findings suggest that this integrated process holds great promise for converting biomass waste into advanced oxygen-containing biofuels.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Materials (JSBEM); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province; USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2267628

Journal Information:: Fuel Processing Technology, Journal Name: Fuel Processing Technology Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 254; ISSN 0378-3820

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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