Feng-Yun Ma

Selective production of chemicals from biomass pyrolysis over metal chlorides supported on zeolite.

Direct biomass conversion into chemicals remains a great challenge because of the complexity of the compounds; hence, this process has attracted less attention than conversion into fuel. In this study, we propose a simple one-step method for converting bagasse into furfural (FF) and acetic acid (AC). In this method, bagasse pyrolysis over ZnCl2/HZSM-5 achieved a high FF and AC yield (58.10%) and a 1.01 FF/AC ratio, but a very low yield of medium-boiling point components. However, bagasse pyrolysis using HZSM-5 alone or ZnCl2 alone still remained large amounts of medium-boiling point components or high-boiling point components. The synergistic effect of HZSM-5 and ZnCl2, which combines pyrolysis, zeolite cracking, and Lewis acid-selective catalysis results in highly efficient bagasse conversion into FF and AC. Therefore, our study provides a novel, simple method for directly converting biomass into high-yield useful chemical.

Additives initiate selective production of chemicals from biomass pyrolysis.

To improve chemicals selectivity under low temperature, a new method that involves the injection of additives into biomass pyrolysis is introduced. This method allows biomass pyrolysis to achieve high selectivity to chemicals under low temperature (300°C), while nothing was obtained in typical pyrolysis under 300°C. However, by using the new method, the first liquid drop emerged at the interval between 140°C and 240°C. Adding methanol to mushroom scrap pyrolysis obtained high selectivity to acetic acid (98.33%), while adding ethyl acetate gained selectivity to methanol (65.77%) in bagasse pyrolysis and to acetone (72.51%) in corncob pyrolysis. Apart from basic chemicals, one high value-added chemical (2,3-dihydrobenzofuran) was also detected, which obtained the highest selectivity (10.33%) in corncob pyrolysis through the addition of ethyl acetate. Comparison of HZSM-5 and CaCO3 catalysis showed that benzene emerged in the liquid because of the larger degree of cracking and hydrodeoxygenation over HZSM-5.