Biomass is receiving significant attention as a renewable energy resource for biofuels and biochemicals. The technology for conversion of biomass to bio-oils via thermochemical pyrolysis as a promising approach is now at an intermediate stage of development. While fundamental understanding of the relevant catalysts for this process is only in its infancy, it is known that inorganic impurities within biomass can act as natural catalysts having a significant effect on the product yields of bio-oil as well as the chemical species therein [1,2,3]. Understanding the molecular-level role of these natural catalysts is important to optimizing the biofuel production processes. Inorganic ions such as potassium, calcium and magnesium are the most abundant in real-world biomass/lignocellulosic feedstocks. The goal of this work is to investigate the effect of calcium on primary and secondary pyrolysis of cellulose. We will consider both the homogeneous catalytic role of the reacting ions and the heterogeneous catalytic role of solid oxide particles in the condensed cellulose phase. Various concentrations of calcium cations have been doped into pure cellulose from their inorganic salt calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) using ion-exchange. While the corresponding oxides CaO are incorporated with cellulose by dry-mixing, determining the role of natural catalysts in altering pyrolysis chemistry within the intermediated liquid and the nature of primary reactions will contribute to the development of biomass reactors which optimize bio-oil yield and quality. [1] Y. Sekiguchi, F. Shafizadeh, “The effect of inorganic additives on the formation, composition, and combustion of cellulosic char,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science 29 (1984) 1267-1286. [2] K. Raveendran, A. Ganesh, K.C. Khilart, “Influence of mineral matter on biomass pyrolysis characteristics,” Fuel 74 (1995) 1812-1822. [3] P.R. Patwardhan, J.A. Satrio, R.C. Brown, B.H. Shanks, “Influence of inorganic salts on the primary pyrolysis products of cellulose,” Bioresource Technology 101 (2010) 4646-4655.

Natural inorganic catalysts in eellulose pyrolysis

249th National Meeting (2015)

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