Funda Ateş

Comparison of real waste (MSW and MPW) pyrolysis in batch reactor over different catalysts. Part II: Contaminants, char and pyrolysis oil properties

Pyrolysis of real wastes (MPW and MSW) has been investigated at 500°C, 550°C and 600°C using Y-zeolite, β-zeolite, equilibrium FCC, MoO3, Ni-Mo-catalyst, HZSM-5 and Al(OH)3 as catalysts. The viscosity of pyrolysis oils could be decreased by the using of catalysts, especially by β-zeolite and MoO3. Both carbon frame and double bound isomerization was found in case of thermo-catalytic pyrolysis. Char morphology and texture analysis showed more coke deposits on the catalyst surface using MSW raw material. Pyrolysis oils had K, S, P Cl, Ca, Zn, Fe, Cr, Br and Sb as contaminants; and the concentrations of K, S, P, Cl and Br could be decreased by the using of catalysts.

Pressurized pyrolysis of dried distillers grains with solubles and canola seed press cake in a fixed-bed reactor.

Pressurized pyrolysis of biomasses was carried in a fixed bed reactor to obtain gases, bio-oils and chars at elevated temperatures. The products were characterized by GC-MS, FTIR, viscometer, SEM, BET and EDXRFS methods. Experiments were performed at 1, 5 and 10 bar pressure and 400, 500 and 600°C temperatures. The experimental results show that in all the experimental condition the yield of bio-oil from DDGS as higher than that of canola. Yield of non-condensable gases and chars increased, while that of liquid products decreased by pressure. Increasing pressure favoured the formation of low molecular weight gas, such as H2. Maximum surface area of chars was obtained at atmospheric pressure and the surface areas decreased rapidly with increasing pressure. GC/MS results shows that the amount of fatty acids in bio-oils was increased by increasing pressure and bio-oils showed non-Newtonian behavior. Based on EDXRFS results, bio-oils and char contained lots of elements.

The evaluation of mesoporous materials as catalyst in fast pyrolysis of wheat straw.

In this study, wheat straw was chosen as a biomass sample and the fast pyrolysis of this sample was carried out with or without catalyst at different conditions in a well-swept fixed-bed reactor. Experiments were carried out in a well-swept tubular fixed-bed reactor with a heating rate of 300°C/min, between pyrolysis temperature ranges 300–800°C in the nitrogen atmosphere. The results indicated that a maximum oil yield of 31.9% was obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 500°C in non-catalytic procedure. Siliceous and Al-MCM-41 materials were evaluated as potential catalysts in the pyrolysis experiments. Mesoporous materials have large pore dimensions with strong acid sites. These acidic sites catalyze some reactions in pyrolysis. The product yields and the quality of bio-oil were influenced with using MCM-41 materials. The bio-oil yield was reduced, whereas the gas yield increased with using a catalyst in the experiments. An increase in the fractions of pure phenol, alkyl phenols, alkenes+alkanes, carbonyls, aromatic, and cyclic compounds and a decrease in the fractions of methoxy phenols, acids+esters, furans, and alcohols were observed in the presence of Al-MCM-41 material. According to all results, the use of Al-MCM-41 materials as catalyst in the pyrolysis can be suggested to obtain both quality fuels and valuable chemicals.

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Biomass: Yields and Characterization of the Products

Terpene hydrocarbons are high energy capacity hydrocarbons. The most known terpenoid biomass is Euphorbiaceae family. Euphorbia rigida, a member of Euphorbiaceae, was used as the biomass feedstock and natural zeolite was used as the catalyst in this study. In the experimental studies, firstly the raw material was analysed for its moisture, ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon. Then experiments were carried out in steam atmosphere in a fixed-bed reactor with a heating rate of 7 K/min, pyrolysis temperature of 823 K and mean particular size of 0.55 mm by mixing the catalyst to feedstock in different percentages. Experiments were performed with the catalyst ratios of 5, 10, 20 and 25 (weight-%) under steam atmosphere with the velocities of 12, 25 and 52 cm3 /min to determine the effect of catalyst and steam on the product yields and bio-oil composition. Steam velocities were considered as the average steam velocities in the inlet tube of the reactor. The maximum bio-oil was reached to a value of 39.7% when using catalyst ratio of 20% and steam flow rate of 25 cm3 /min. Pyrolysis oils were examined by using elemental analysis, IR and 1 H-NMR spectroscopy. The liquid products were also fractionated by column chromatography and the gas chromatographic analysis of n-pentane eluate was performed.Copyright