Improving the Conversion of Biomass in Catalytic Pyrolysis via Intensification of Biomass—Catalyst Contact by Co-Pressing

Thermocatalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Areca Nut into Renewable Fuel and Value-Added Chemicals

Pyrolytic oil is currently in its early stages of production and distribution but has the potential to grow into a significant renewable energy source. It may be processed into a variety of useful substances, including chemicals, and used for heating, transportation, and energy production. The present investigation involves the production and characterization of pyrolytic oil from areca nut husk (ANH), with and without ZSM-5. The pyrolysis experiment was conducted in a semibatch tubular reactor at 600 °C and a heating rate of 80 °C min-1 using ZSM-5 at 20 wt %. The pyrolytic oil was examined via elemental analysis, viscosity, density, moisture content, GC-MS, FTIR, higher heating value (HHV), and ash content. The analysis of kinetics verified that the activation energy rises in proportion to the conversion rate. Additionally, employing ZSM-5 in catalytic pyrolysis at 20 wt % boosted the yield of pyrolytic oil by 11% compared to thermal pyrolysis. Employing ZSM-5 at 20 wt % resulted in a decrease in viscosity, oxygen content, and density by approximately 43.40 cSt, 15.20%, and 168 MJ kg-1, respectively. Moreover, it led to an increase in higher heating value (HHV) and carbon content by 11.71 MJ kg1- and 14.06%, respectively. An FTIR study of pyrolytic oil revealed the occurrence of hydrocarbons, aromatics, phenols, alcohols, and oxygenated chemicals. Moreover, GC-MS analysis indicated a significant increase in hydrocarbons (10.31%) and a decrease in phenols (2.36%), acids (6.38%), and oxygenated compounds with the introduction of the catalyst. Consequently, it can be inferred that utilizing ZSM-5 at 20 wt % during the pyrolysis of ANH aids in enhancing both the yield and characteristics of the resulting pyrolysis oil.

A new approach to obtain kinetic parameters of corn cob pyrolysis catalyzed with CaO and CaCO3

A new approach is proposed to obtain the kinetic parameters of biomass pyrolysis mixed with calcium catalyst. This approach involves the optimization of least squares (LS) with the Coats-Redfern integral method to avoid mathematical biases that may appear when applying the linear regression approach. The method was applied to the TGA data of pyrolysis of corn cob and corn cob mixed with 20 or 40 % by weight of CaO or CaCO₃ under N₂ atmosphere at temperatures between 25 and 700 °C. For raw cob, r² reaches 0.997. For corn cob mixed with 20 % by weight of CaO or CaCO₃, r² reached 0.996–0.998, and for 40 % by weight, r² reached 0.836–0.957. Applying this method, the activation energy (EA) value of the raw cob pyrolysis is 58.35 kJ mol⁻¹, while the addition of CaO or CaCO₃ increases the EA to 69.33 and 66.07 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The method is simple to use and allows reliable values of kinetic parameters.

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LS regression is a simple method to obtain kinetic parameters from pyrolysis of corn cob.

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Calcium compounds mixed with corn cob reduce thermal degradation in pyrolysis.

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The addition of CaO or CaCO₃ to corn cob pyrolysis showed a second- order reaction.

Hydrogen-Rich Gas Production from Two-Stage Catalytic Pyrolysis of Pine Sawdust with Nano-NiO/Al2O3 Catalyst

Hydrogen production from biomass pyrolysis is economically and technologically attractive from the perspectives of energy and the environment. The two-stage catalytic pyrolysis of pine sawdust for hydrogen-rich gas production is investigated using nano-NiO/Al2O3 as the catalyst at high temperatures. The influences of residence time (0–30 s) and catalytic temperature (500–800 °C) on pyrolysis performance are examined in the distribution of pyrolysis products, gas composition, and gas properties. The results show that increasing the residence time decreased the solid and liquid products but increased gas products. Longer residence times could promote tar cracking and gas-phase conversion reactions and improve the syngas yield, H2/CO ratio, and carbon conversion. The nano-NiO/A12O3 exhibits excellent catalytic activity for tar removal, with a tar conversion rate of 93% at 800 °C. The high catalytic temperature could significantly improve H2 and CO yields by enhancing the decomposition of tar and gas-phase reactions between CO2 and CH4. The increasing catalytic temperature increases the dry gas yield and carbon conversion but decreases the H2/CO ratio and low heating value.

Hydrogen-Rich Gas Production from Two-Stage Catalytic Pyrolysis of Pine Sawdust with Calcined Dolomite

The potential of catalytic pyrolysis of biomass for hydrogen and bio-oil production has drawn great attention due to the concern of clean energy utilization and decarbonization. In this paper, the catalytic pyrolysis of pine sawdust with calcined dolomite was carried out in a novel moving bed reactor with a two-stage screw feeder. The effects of pyrolysis temperature (700–900 °C) and catalytic temperature (500–800 °C) on pyrolysis performance were investigated in product distribution, gas composition, and gas properties. The results showed that with the temperature increased, pyrolysis gas yield increased, but the yield of solid and liquid products decreased. With the increase in temperature, the CO and H2 content increased significantly, while the CO2 and CH4 decreased correspondingly. The calcined dolomite can remove the tar by 44% and increased syngas yield by 52.9%. With the increasing catalytic temperature, the catalytic effect of calcined dolomite was also enhanced.