Fast pyrolysis of biomass followed by hydrotreating of the resulting pyrolysis liquid can produce a low-oxygen hydrocarbon liquid which holds promise as a refinery blendstock that could be used to produce transportation fuels. However many questions remain. The biomass feedstock affects the yield of pyrolysis oil and its physical and chemical properties. Catalytic upgrading of the pyrolysis vapors produces a higher-quality pyrolysis oil but in lower yield than uncatalyzed fast pyrolysis. The quality of the oil affects the yield and operability of the hydrotreating, including the number of stages required to produce a satisfactory intermediate or finished blendstock. Thus the best and most cost-effective path is still in question.<br/><br/>Therefore Idaho National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been collaborating to study the effect of feedstock properties and vapor-phase upgrading on the yield and quality of the hydrotreated products. A model is being constructed to predict the yield from biomass blends by the different methods. The pyrolysis yield is linearly dependent on blend components within experimental error. To this point, fixed carbon and alkali metal are key predictors, with high-alkali, herbaceous crops generally producing lower oil yields and higher water yields than woody feedstocks. Additional parameters are being fitted to produce more accurate predictions of oil yields and the model is being extended to predict the overall yield for the complete process to hydrocarbons.

Effect of feedstock and pyrolysis-catalyst on the yield of hydrotreated refinery intermediate

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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