H₂CAP - Hydrogen assisted catalytic biomass pyrolysis for green fuels

Pyrolysis of biomass produces a high yield of condensable oil at moderate temperature and low pressure.This bio-oil has adverse properties such as high oxygen and water contents, high acidity and immiscibility with fossil hydrocarbons. Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is a promising technology that can be used to upgrade the crude bio-oil to fuel-grade oil. The development of the HDO process is challenged by rapid catalyst deactivation, instability of the pyrolysis oil, poorly investigated reaction conditions and a high complexity and variability of the input oil composition. However, continuous catalytic hydropyrolysis coupled with downstream HDO of the pyrolysis vapors before condensation shows promise (Figure 1). A bench scale experimental setup will be constructed for the continuous conversion of solid biomass (100g /h) to low oxygen, fuel-grade bio-oil. The aim is to provide a proof-of-concept for the proposed process(Figure 1), to understand the reaction mechanisms of HDO, to develop highly active and durable catalysts for hydropyrolysis and HDO and to optimize the operating conditions; all in order to develop a sustainable production of green transportation fuels from biomass.To support the process development, the conversion of different bio-oil model compounds over a widerange of catalyst classes (reduced types, oxides, phosphides and sulfides) will be investigated. Special attention will be paid to operating conditions (e.g. temperature, H₂ partial pressure, residence time) and totolerance against water, sulfur, chlorine and potassium which are abundant in bio-oil.