Jong-Ki Jeon

The characteristics of bio-oil produced from the pyrolysis of three marine macroalgae

The pyrolysis of two brown macroalgae (Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria japonica) and one red macroalgae (Porphyra tenera) was investigated for the production of bio-oil within the temperature range of 300-600°C. Macroalgae differ from lignocellulosic land biomass in their constitutional compounds and high N, S and ash contents. The maximum production of bio-oil was achieved at 500°C, with yields between 37.5 and 47.4 wt.%. The main compounds in bio-oils vary between macroalgae and are greatly different from those of land biomass, especially in the presence of many nitrogen-containing compounds. Of the gaseous products, CO(2) was dominant, while C(1)-C(4) hydrocarbons gradually increasing at 400°C and above. The pretreatment of macroalgae by acid washing effectively reduced the ash content. The pyrolysis of macroalgae offers a new opportunity for feedstock production; however, the utilization of bio-oil as a fuel product needs further assessment.

Steam reforming of biomass gasification tar using benzene as a model compound over various Ni supported metal oxide catalysts

The steam reforming of benzene as a model compound of biomass gasification tar was carried out over various Ni/metal oxide catalysts. The effects of the support, temperature, Ni-precursor, Ni loading and reaction time were examined, and their catalytic performance was compared with that of a commercial Ni catalyst. Among the Ni/metal oxide catalysts used, 15 wt% Ni/CeO(2)(75%)-ZrO(2)(25%) showed the highest catalytic performance owing to its greater redox characteristics and increased surface area, irrespective of the reaction temperature. The catalytic activity of 15 wt% Ni/CeO(2)(75%)-ZrO(2)(25%) was higher than that of the commercial Ni catalyst. Moreover, the catalyst activity was retained due to its excellent resistance to coke deposition even after 5h. The Ni-precursor played a critical role in the catalytic activity. With the exception of nickel nitrate, all the Ni-precursors (chloride and sulfate) caused deactivation of the catalyst.

Clean bio-oil production from fast pyrolysis of sewage sludge: Effects of reaction conditions and metal oxide catalysts

Fast pyrolysis of sewage sludge was carried out under different reaction conditions, and its effects on bio-oil characteristics were studied. The effect of metal oxide catalysts on the removal of chlorine in the bio-oil was also investigated for four types of catalysts. The optimal pyrolysis temperature for bio-oil production was found to be 450 degrees C, while much smaller and larger feed sizes adversely influenced production. Higher flow and feeding rates were more effective but did not greatly affect bio-oil yields. The use of the product gas as the fluidizing medium gave an increased bio-oil yield. Metal oxide catalysts (CaO and La2O3) contributed to a slight decrease in bio-oil yield and an increase in water content but were significantly effective in removal of chlorine from the bio-oil. The fixed catalyst bed system exhibited a higher removal rate than when metal oxide-supported alumina was used as the fluidized bed material.

Influence of operation variables on fast pyrolysis of Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens.

Fast pyrolysis of Miscanthus was investigated in a bench-scale fluidized bed reactor for production of bio-oil. Process conditions were varied for temperature (350-550 degrees C), particle size (0.3-1.3mm), feed rate and gas flow rate. Pyrolysis temperature was the most influential parameter upon the yield and properties of bio-oil. The highest bio-oil yield of 69.2wt.% was observed at a temperature of 450 degrees C which corresponded to the end of the thermal composition of hemicellulose and cellulose. In the bio-oil, the water content was 34.5wt.%, and the main compounds in the organic fraction were phenolics and oxygenates. With increasing temperature, the amount of oxygenates in the bio-oil decreased gradually while that of water and aromatics increased rapidly. The bio-oil yield was not significantly affected by particle sizes or feed rates. The use of product gases as a fluidizing medium aided in increasing bio-oil yield.

Upgrading of biofuel by the catalytic deoxygenation of biomass

Biomass can be used to produce biofuels, such as bio-oil and bio-diesel, by a range of methods. Biofuels, however, have a high oxygen content, which deteriorates the biofuel quality. Therefore, the upgrading of biofuels via catalytic deoxygenation is necessary. This paper reviews the recent advances of the catalytic deoxygenation of biomass. Catalytic cracking of bio-oil is a promising method to enhance the quality of bio-oil. Microporous zeolites, mesoporous zeolites and metal oxide catalysts have been investigated for the catalytic cracking of biomass. On the other hand, it is important to develop methods to reduce catalyst coking and enhance the lifetime of the catalyst. In addition, an examination of the effects of the process parameters is very important for optimizing the composition of the product. The catalytic upgrading of triglycerides to hydrocarbon-based fuels is carried out in two ways. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) was introduced to remove oxygen atoms from the triglycerides in the form of H2O by hydrogenation. HDO produced hydrogenated biodiesel because the catalysts and process were based mainly on well-established technology, hydrodesulfurization. Many refineries and companies have attempted to develop and commercialize the HDO process. On the other hand, the consumption of huge amounts of hydrogen is a major problem hindering the wide-spread use of HDO process. To solve the hydrogen problem, deoxygenation with the minimum use of hydrogen was recently proposed. Precious metal-based catalysts showed reasonable activity for the deoxygenation of reagent-grade fatty acids with a batch-mode reaction. On the other hand, the continuous production of hydrocarbon in a fixed-bed showed that the initial catalytic activity decreases gradually due to coke deposition. The catalytic activity for deoxygenation needs to be maintained to achieve the widespread production of hydrocarbon-based fuels with a biological origin.

Catalytic upgrading of oil fractions separated from food waste leachate.

In this work, catalytic cracking of biomass waste oil fractions separated from food waste leachate was performed using microporous catalysts, such as HY, HZSM-5 and mesoporous Al-MCM-48. The experiments were carried out using pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to allow the direct analysis of the pyrolytic products. Most acidic components, especially oleic acid, contained in the food waste oil fractions were converted to valuable products, such as oxygenates, hydrocarbons and aromatics. High yields of hydrocarbons within the gasoline-range were obtained when microporous catalysts were used; whereas, the use of Al-MCM-48, which exhibits relatively weak acidity, resulted in high yields of oxygenated and diesel-range hydrocarbons. The HZSM-5 catalyst produced a higher amount of valuable mono aromatics due to its strong acidity and shape selectivity. Especially, the addition of gallium (Ga) to HZSM-5 significantly increased the aromatics content.

Recent advances in the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oil

Owing to the increasing interest in alternative energy, there is a focus on bio-oil production from biomass because it is an abundant and renewable energy source. Among the various kinds of biomass conversion technologies, pyrolysis has been investigated widely to produce bio-oil. However, the direct use of bio-oil is difficult because of its poor quality due to the large amounts of oxygen-containing compounds, such as acids, ketones, and esters. Therefore, an additional suitable upgrading process for bio-oil is required. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is considered effective for the deoxygenation of bio-oil. This paper reviews the recent progress in the catalytic HDO of bio-oil. In addition, the effects of the solvent and catalyst applied to the HDO of bio-oil are reviewed intensively together with a discussion of the deactivation behavior of the catalyst during HDO.

Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of Bio-oil Model Compounds over Pt/HY Catalyst

The hydrodeoxygenation of a model compound of lignin-derived bio-oil, guaiacol, which can be obtained from the pyrolysis of biomass to bio-oil, has attracted considerable research attention because of its huge potential as a substitute for conventional fuels. In this study, platinum-loaded HY zeolites (Pt/HY) with different Si/Al molar ratios were used as catalysts for the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol, anisole, veratrole, and phenol to a range of hydrocarbons, such as cyclohexane. The cyclohexane (major product) yield increased with increasing number of acid sites. To produce bio-oil with the maximum level of cyclohexane and alkylated cyclohexanes, which would be suitable as a substitute for conventional transportation fuels, the Si/Al molar ratio should be optimized to balance the Pt particle-induced hydrogenation with acid site-induced methyl group transfer. The fuel properties of real bio-oil derived from the fast pyrolysis of cork oak was improved using the Pt/HY catalyst.

Indoor formaldehyde removal over CMK-3

The removal of formaldehyde at low concentrations is important in indoor air pollution research. In this study, mesoporous carbon with a large specific surface area was used for the adsorption of low-concentration indoor formaldehyde. A mesoporous carbon material, CMK-3, was synthesized using the nano-replication method. SBA-15 was used as a mesoporous template. The surface of CMK-3 was activated using a 2N H2SO4 solution and NH3 gas to prepare CMK-3-H2SO4 and CMK-3-NH3, respectively. The activated samples were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formaldehyde adsorption performance of the mesoporous carbons was in the order of CMK-3-NH3 > CMK-3-H2SO4 > CMK-3. The difference in the adsorption performance was explained by oxygen and nitrogen functional groups formed during the activation process and by the specific surface area and pore structure of mesoporous carbon.

Catalytic pyrolysis of waste rice husk over mesoporous materials

Catalytic fast pyrolysis of waste rice husk was carried out using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry [Py-GC/MS]. Meso-MFI zeolite [Meso-MFI] was used as the catalyst. In addition, a 0.5-wt.% platinum [Pt] was ion-exchanged into Meso-MFI to examine the effect of Pt addition. Using a catalytic upgrading method, the activities of the catalysts were evaluated in terms of product composition and deoxygenation. The structure and acid site characteristics of the catalysts were analyzed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurement and NH3 temperature-programmed desorption analysis. Catalytic upgrading reduced the amount of oxygenates in the product vapor due to the cracking reaction of the catalysts. Levoglucosan, a polymeric oxygenate species, was completely decomposed without being detected. While the amount of heavy phenols was reduced by catalytic upgrading, the amount of light phenols was increased because of the catalytic cracking of heavy phenols into light phenols and aromatics. The amount of aromatics increased remarkably as a result of catalytic upgrading, which is attributed to the strong Brönsted acid sites and the shape selectivity of the Meso-MFI catalyst. The addition of Pt made the Meso-MFI catalyst even more active in deoxygenation and in the production of aromatics.