Ex-situ catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) has been identified as a promising route for the conversion of biomass into liquid hydrocarbon fuels. In this process, biomass pyrolysis vapors, containing over 400 different oxygenated compounds, are catalytically upgraded in a secondary reactor prior to condensation in order to stabilize the intermediate bio-oil and improve downstream processing. The stabilization of the intermediate oil is achieved by incorporating hydrogen and removing oxygen, thus catalysts for ex-situ CFP must be developed that can activate H2 at low partial pressures and relatively high temperatures (350-450 °C) and preferentially break C-O bonds over C-C bonds. A number of studies in literature report on promising catalyst formulations for hydrogenating and deoxygenating model compounds representative of biomass pyrolysis vapors; however, very few of these studies ever evaluate their catalysts under ex-situ CFP conditions with whole biomass nor do they link surface properties and identified model compound reaction mechanisms to CFP performance. This presentation will discuss our approach to (1) probing intrinsic catalytic properties for complex biomass conversion processes like ex-situ CFP using model compound studies coupled with comprehensive catalyst characterization and computational modeling and (2) linking these intrinsic properties to CFP performance with biomass pyrolysis vapors.

From catalyst design to technology validation: Elucidating reaction mechanisms and kinetics for complex biomass conversion processes

2019 Spring National Meeting

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