Pyrolysis of cellulose over mesoporous catalysts

Biomass has received considerable attention both as a source of energy and as an organic chemical feedstock. The energy potential of biomass has increasingly become recognized as a means to help meet world energy demand. The utilization of biomass and other alternative fuel sources, rather than existing fossil fuels, would offer more environmentally acceptable processes for energy production and will aid in conserving the limited supplies of fossil fuels. Pyrolysis of biomass is one of the most promising tools to provide alternative energy sources. However, pyrolytic oils are not always completely volatile and contain high levels of oxygen, this being the major factor responsible for the high viscosity and corrosiveness. The upgrading of pyrolitic oils is a necessary process and involves the removal of oxygen by catalyst such as ZSM-5, Y zeolite. However, mesoporous materials such as Al-MCM-41, Al-MCM-48, Al-SBA-15 have not been considered as a catalyst for bio-oil upgrading. In this study, catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose was carried out using batch or semi batch reactor over mesoporous aluminosilicates. The yield of char over mesoporous catalysts increased as compared with HZSM-5 due to its larger pore size. By using the catalysts, more stable oil could be produced by transforming oxygen, which was the main cause for the instability of bio-oil, into H2O.