Synthesis of metal-free heteroatom (N, P, O, and B) doped biochar catalysts for enhanced catalytic co-pyrolysis of walnut shells and palm oil fatty acid distillate to produce high-quality bio-oil

Premchand, Premchand, Fino, Debora, Demichelis, Francesca, Bensaid, Samir, Chiaramonti, David, O'Connell, George, Scott, Jason, and Antunes, Elsa (2024) Synthesis of metal-free heteroatom (N, P, O, and B) doped biochar catalysts for enhanced catalytic co-pyrolysis of walnut shells and palm oil fatty acid distillate to produce high-quality bio-oil. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 12. 113630.

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Abstract

In the current study, sugarcane bagasse-derived biochar catalysts were synthesized by doping with metal-free heteroatoms including nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and boron and their efficacy was tested for catalytic co-pyrolysis of walnut shells (WS) and palm oil fatty acid distillate (PFAD) using Py-GC/MS. The biochar catalysts’ properties and their effectiveness on co-pyrolytic bio-oil (overall product distribution, selectivity towards aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, and carbon number ranges) were extensively examined. Among the various catalysts considered, boron-doped biochar (BCB) demonstrated effective performance due to an improved surface area, porosity, and acidity and resulted in a significantly increased hydrocarbon yield, particularly in the gasoline and diesel range, and preference for aromatic over aliphatic hydrocarbons. The optimum bio-oil quality was achieved at a feedstock-to-catalyst ratio of 2:1 and a pyrolysis temperature of 750 °C, with a hydrocarbon yield of 90.8 % and aromatic hydrocarbon selectivity of 63.5 %. Overall, the study underscores the role of BCB in fostering deoxygenation, decarboxylation, and aromatic selectivity via thermal and catalytic pathways, highlighting the potential of non-metallic doped biochars for bio-oil upgrading.

Item ID: 83734
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 2213-3437
Keywords: Aromatic hydrocarbons, Bio-oil upgrading, Biomass, Catalytic co-pyrolysis, Heteroatom-doped biochar
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Copyright Information: © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Date Deposited: 25 Sep 2024 01:03
Downloads: Total: 4
Last 12 Months: 4
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