Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) has emerged as a promising method for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid fuels and valuable chemicals in fluidized bed reactors. The CFP of lignocellulosic biomass to aromatics using a ZSM-5 catalyst was studied in a laboratory-scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor using a combination of experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations. Operating conditions were optimized to achieve yields of up to ~40% in benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX) and other aromatics in a single thermal catalytic step at an operating temperature of 500 degrees Celsius. A vertical coaxial feed tube was used to supply biomass to the reactor in a downward flow configuration. The flow of the thermally decomposing biomass particles in the feeding tube was modeled and performance diagrams of the process were constructed identifying operating conditions that provide steady downward flow of a suspension of particles without transition to slow moving bed flow or reversed gas flow. The effects of adding steam and varying the contact time between the ZSM-5 catalyst and the biomass feedstock were studied to understand the mechanisms of and control the catalyst deactivation due to coking. The effects of the morphology of the mesoporous ZSM-5 catalysts on product selectivity and coke formation during CFP of furan, a model biomass-derived oxygenated compound, were studied in a fixed bed reactor to obtain mechanistic insights that can be applied to the rational design of ZSM-5 catalysts for CFP of biomass in fluidized beds.

In honor of Professor Liang-Shih Fan: Design of fluidized bed reactors for catalytic fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to renewable fuels and chemicals

ACS Spring 2022

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