Abstract
The catalytic pyrolysis of Tetraselmis sp. and Isochrysis sp. was carried out over ceria based catalysts in a fixed bed reactor. There was a clear effect of the catalysts on the product yields and quality, with the catalysts able to recover a large fraction of the starting microalgae energy (67–77%) in the bio-oils. Bio-oil yield was found to be higher in presence of Ni–Ce/Al2O3 and Ni–Ce/ZrO2 (26 wt.%). The produced bio-oils had HHVs (higher heating values) of 34–35 MJ/kg and suffered strong deoxygenation, with O level decreased from 40–41% in the starting microalgae to 9–15%. Also, 15–20% N removal was obtained using the ceria based catalysts. The oxygen contents in the bio-oils were remarkably lower than those previously obtained using ZSM-5 (25%) and other species without catalyst (17–24%). 1H NMR and GC–MS analysis showed that the bio-oils were enriched in aliphatics and depleted in N-compounds and water using the ceria based catalysts.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 205–214 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Energy |
Volume | 103 |
Early online date | 22 Mar 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 May 2016 |