Model Compound Study for the Catalytic Upgrading of Bio-derived Oil to Fuels and Valuable Chemicals under Methane Environment
Date
2018-04-24
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Abstract
The technical feasibility of upgrading acetic acid, glycerol and acetone under methane environment to fuels and valuable chemicals has been investigated over various catalysts. These feedstocks represent model compounds for the acid, alcohol and ketone components of bio-derived oils. From a series of batch reactions, 5%Zn-1%Ga/ZSM-5(SiO2/Al2O3=23), 5%Zn-1%Cu-1%Ga/ZSM-5(SiO2/Al2O3=23) and 5%Zn-1%Ga/ZSM-5(SiO2/Al2O3=280) were determined to have the greatest catalytic performance for the aromatization of acetic acid, glycerol and acetone, respectively. Through systematical catalyst characterizations, the catalyst acidity and metal dispersion are identified as the most important factors when determining catalytic performance. Additionally, methane environment was found to enhance liquid yield, inhibit coke formation and to become incorporated into the liquid product by resorting to an isotopic labelling technique coupled with NMR and GC-MS. These findings lead to a better understanding of the interaction and reaction mechanism involved in the upgrading of biomass derived oxygenates under methane environment for fuels and valuable chemicals production, which could potentially contribute to a cost-effective substitution of petroleum derived chemicals and fuels for biomass derived products.
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Keywords
Catalysis, Methane Utilization, Biomass
Citation
Austin, D. (2018). Model Compound Study for the Catalytic Upgrading of Bio-derived Oil to Fuels and Valuable Chemicals under Methane Environment (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31851