Catalytic Pyrolysis of Torrefied Biomass for Hydrocarbons Production

A simple thermal pretreatment process called torrefaction has shown to be effective in improving the quality of pyrolysis oil in terms of chemical composition. The main objective of this study was to integrate torrefaction with fast pyrolysis process to produce high quality of bio-oil. In this study, the effects of four pyrolysis temperatures (450, 500, 550, and 600 degrees C) and shape selective zeolite catalyst (H(+)ZSM-5) on hydrocarbon yield were analyzed. Temperature and catalyst were found to be favorable for aromatic hydrocarbons from pyrolysis of torrefied biomass. The total carbon yield from catalytic pyrolysis of torrefied biomass was 1.45 times the total carbon yield from catalytic pyrolysis of untreated pine. Reaction mechanisms were proposed to understand the production of hydrocarbons from lignin and holocellulose derivatives.