TY - JOUR
T1 - Lithium–Sodium Fly Ash-Derived Catalyst for the In Situ Partial Deoxygenation of Isochrysis sp. Microalgae Bio-Oil
AU - Abd Rahman, Nur Adilah
AU - Cardenas-Lizana, Fernando
AU - Sanna, Aimaro
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partially funded by the EPSRC Grant no. EP/P018955.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/7/19
Y1 - 2023/7/19
N2 - The catalytic potential of Na and LiNa fly ash (FA) obtained through a simple solid-state synthesis was investigated for the pyrolysis of Isochrysis sp. microalgae using a fixed bed reactor at 500 °C. While both LiNa-FA and Na-FA catalysts reduced the bio-oil yield and increased char and gas production, LiNa-FA was found to enhance the quality of the resulting bio-oil by decreasing its oxygen content (−25 wt.%), increasing paraffins and olefins and decreasing its acidity. The deoxygenation activity of LiNa-FA was attributed to the presence of weak and mild base sites, which enabled dehydration, decarboxylation, ketonisation, and cracking to form olefins. The bio-oil generated with LiNa-FA contained higher amounts of alkanes, alkenes, and carbonated esters, indicating its capacity to chemisorb and partially desorb CO2 under the studied conditions. These findings suggest that LiNa-FA catalysts could be a cost-effective alternative to acidic zeolites for in situ deoxygenation of microalgae to biofuels.
AB - The catalytic potential of Na and LiNa fly ash (FA) obtained through a simple solid-state synthesis was investigated for the pyrolysis of Isochrysis sp. microalgae using a fixed bed reactor at 500 °C. While both LiNa-FA and Na-FA catalysts reduced the bio-oil yield and increased char and gas production, LiNa-FA was found to enhance the quality of the resulting bio-oil by decreasing its oxygen content (−25 wt.%), increasing paraffins and olefins and decreasing its acidity. The deoxygenation activity of LiNa-FA was attributed to the presence of weak and mild base sites, which enabled dehydration, decarboxylation, ketonisation, and cracking to form olefins. The bio-oil generated with LiNa-FA contained higher amounts of alkanes, alkenes, and carbonated esters, indicating its capacity to chemisorb and partially desorb CO2 under the studied conditions. These findings suggest that LiNa-FA catalysts could be a cost-effective alternative to acidic zeolites for in situ deoxygenation of microalgae to biofuels.
KW - Isochrisissp
KW - bio-oil
KW - catalyst
KW - deoxygenation
KW - lithium
KW - pyrolysis
KW - sodium
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166229751&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/catal13071122
DO - 10.3390/catal13071122
M3 - Article
SN - 2073-4344
VL - 13
JO - Catalysts
JF - Catalysts
IS - 7
M1 - 1122
ER -