Aromatic rich biofuel production via catalytic co-pyrolysis of paulownia wood and polypropylene waste

Abstract

Thermo-catalytic co-pyrolysis of paulownia wood and polypropylene mixture were carried out in a fixed bed horizontal reactor system. The biochar obtained from pyrolysis of paulownia wood was activated by steam at 700°C. Activated biochar supported magnesium oxide, nickel oxide and cobalt oxide catalysts were prepared by incipient miosture impregnation and were used to upgrade the bio-oil. Catalytic pyrolysis reduced the amount of bio-oil compared with non-catalytic pyrolysis (59.5% of bio-oil). The results indicate that the production of aromatic compounds increased from 40.35% to 65.93, 62.12 and 61.56% using Ni, Co and Mg catalysts, respectively. For all three catalysts, the production of furan compounds decreased. It was found that bio-char based catalysts are suitable for use in the co-pyrolysis process to improvement the biofuel production.