Hydrodeoxygenation of Pyrolysis Oil in Supercritical Ethanol with Formic Acid as an In Situ Hydrogen Source over NiMoW Catalysts Supported on Different Materials

Mingyuan Zhang, Xue Han, Huanang Wang, Yimin Zeng () and Chunbao Charles Xu ()
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Mingyuan Zhang: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
Xue Han: CanmetMATERIALS, Natural Resources Canada, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A5, Canada
Huanang Wang: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
Yimin Zeng: CanmetMATERIALS, Natural Resources Canada, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A5, Canada
Chunbao Charles Xu: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is one of the most promising approaches to upgrading pyrolysis oils, but this process normally operates over expensive noble metal catalysts (e.g., Ru/C, Pt/Al 2 O 3 ) under high-pressure hydrogen gas, which raises processing costs and safety concerns. In this study, a wood-derived pyrolysis oil was upgraded in supercritical ethanol using formic acid as an in situ hydrogen source at 300 °C and 350 °C, over a series of nickel–molybdenum-tungsten (NiMoW) catalysts supported on different materials, including Al 2 O 3 , activated carbon, sawdust carbon, and multiwalled nanotubes (MWNTs). The upgrading was also conducted under hydrogen gas (an ex situ hydrogen source) for comparison. The upgrading process was evaluated by oil yield, degree of deoxygenation (DOD), and oil qualities. The NiMoW/MWNT catalyst showed the best HDO performance among all the catalysts tested at 350 °C, with 74.8% and 70.9% of oxygen in the raw pyrolysis oil removed under in situ and ex situ hydrogen source conditions, respectively, which is likely owing to the large pore size and volume of the MWNT support material, while the in situ hydrogen source outperformed the ex situ hydrogen source in terms of upgraded oil yields and qualities, regardless of the catalysts employed.

Keywords: pyrolysis oil; catalytic hydrodeoxygenation upgrading; supercritical ethanol; in situ hydrogen source; NiMoW catalysts; different supports (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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