Toshio Tsutsui

Conversion of Biomass-Derived Oxygen-Containing Intermediates into Chemical Raw Materials with Zeolite

To establish a new production route of biomass-derived BTX and propylene, the catalytic conversion of oxygen-containing intermediates which are furfural, levulinic acid, acetic acid or butyric acid, obtained by hydrothermal reactions of bagasse or fermentation of molasses was investigated with zeolites, ZSM-5, SAPO-11 and SAPO-34. Levulinic acid and acetic acid were suitable for generating BTX with ZSM-5. On the other hand, the butyric acid was valuable for converting to chemical raw materials with ZSM-5. By using SAPO-11 as the catalyst, butyric acid converted to propylene at high yields. The yield for propylene was the maximum value 58.8C% at 723K, especially the ratio of propylene to gaseous hydrocarbon products increased up to 90.4C%.

Fast Pyrolysis of Oil Palm Kernel Shell in a Fluidized Bed Reactor: The Effect of Pyrolysis Temperature on the Yields of Pyrolysis Products

This study investigates the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the yields of char, organic compounds, water and gas. Fast pyrolysis was carried out in a fluidized bed reactor of 108 mm in internal diameter operated at 400, 450, 500 and 550 °C with nitrogen gas with flow rate of 25 L(NTP)/min. In specific the effect of temperature on the yields of known and unknown organics in bio-oil is discussed. For higher total organics, 500 oC was favorable. But higher phenol and acetic acid yields, 450 oC was preferable. The major organics include acetic acid, phenol and furfural. The minor ones include 2-methylphenol, 4-methylphenol, 4-methylnaphthalene, benzene, toluene and THF.

Fast Pyrolysis of Oil Palm Kernel Shell in a Fluidized Bed Reactor: The Effect of Biomass Size on the Yields of Pyrolysis Products

This study investigates the effect of biomass size on the yields of char, liquid (organic compounds and water) and gas for fast pyrolysis of palm kernel shell (PKS). Fast pyrolysis was carried out in a fluidized bed reactor of 108 mm in internal diameter operated at 450 °C using three different sizes of palm kernel shell (0.325, 0.75 and 1.5 mm). In specific the effect of biomass size on the yields of known and unknown organics in bio-oil was mainly investigated. The major organics include acetic acid, phenol and furfural. The minor ones include 2-methylphenol, 4-methylphenol, 2-methylnaphthalene, benzene, toluene and tetrahydrofurane (THF). Smaller biomass sizes were favorable for higher bio-oil yields.

Time-Series Analysis for Kinetic Interpretation of Catalytic Cracking of 1-Octene with a Model Involving Dominant Reactions

A time-series analysis of dominant reactions is proposed for kinetic interpretation of catalytic cracking of an olefin hydrocarbon with carbon number C8. The analysis considered four dominant reaction groups: cracking, skeletal isomerization, cyclization and hydrogen transfer. The kinetic parameters of normal, mono-, di-and tri-branched hydrocarbons as well as naphthenes were determined so as to follow the tendency of the experimental data. The analysis revealed that the reaction rate of isomer cracking was faster than that of linear hydrocarbon one, suggesting that the cracking product was produced dominantly via isomerization rather than direct cracking of linear hydrocarbons. These results implied that the conditions suitable for suppressing over-cracking and prevailing skeletal isomerization lie in the range of lower temperature.

Bio-Oil Derived from Palm Kernel Shell in Fluidized Bed Reactor: Effect of Particle Size

Bio-oil production from pyrolysis of 0.15-0.5 mm and 1-2 mm palm kernel shell (PKS) has been investigated in a fluidized bed reactor under the nitrogen gas flow rate of 25 L(NTP)/min, with reactor temperature of 450°C. The pyrolysis unit has six successive condensers. Thus, six fractions of bio-oil samples were acquired from the six condensers. The calorific value, water content, ash content, and element content of each bio-oil samples were determined. The bio-oil yield from palm kernel shell with the size of 0.15-0.5 mm and 1-2 mm were 20 % and 26 %, respectively. The highest calorific value among the six bio-oil samples was 25.1 MJ/kg which was drawn from the forth condenser from pyrolysis of 0.15-0.5 mm of palm kernel shell. The incondensable gas was a mixture of hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and ethane.