Historical Developments in Hydroprocessing Bio-oils

TLDR

Catalytic hydrotreating and hydrocracking of bio‑oil has been pursued mainly in the U.S. and Europe, with bench‑scale batch and continuous‑flow reactors, and is viewed as an extension of conventional petroleum processing with similar system requirements. The review surveys catalytic hydroprocessing developments for bio‑oil over the past 25 years. The review examines heterogeneous catalysts, from conventional sulfided petroleum catalysts to precious metal systems, used in bio‑oil hydroprocessing.

Abstract

This paper is a review of the developments in the field of catalytic hydroprocessing of biomass-derived liquefaction conversion products (bio-oil) over the past 25 years. Work has been underway, primarily in the U.S. and Europe, in catalytic hydrotreating and hydrocracking of bio-oil in both batch-fed and continuous-flow bench-scale reactor systems. A range of heterogeneous catalyst materials have been tested, including conventional sulfided catalysts developed for petroleum hydroprocessing and precious metal catalysts. The important processing differences have been identified, which required adjustments to conventional hydroprocessing as applied to petroleum feedstocks. This application of hydroprocessing is seen as an extension of petroleum processing and system requirements are not far outside the range of conventional hydroprocessing. The technology is still under development but can play a significant role in supplementing increasingly expensive petroleum.