Renewable Chemical Commodity Feedstocks from Integrated Catalytic Processing of Pyrolysis Oils

TLDR

Fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass yields a cheap renewable liquid fuel known as pyrolysis oil. The study demonstrates converting pyrolysis oils into industrial commodity chemical feedstocks via an integrated hydroprocessing and zeolite catalytic approach. Hydroprocessing enriches pyrolysis oil with hydrogen to form polyols and alcohols, which a zeolite catalyst then converts into light olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons, with yields up to three times higher than untreated oil and adjustable based on market and price factors. Yield of aromatic hydrocarbons and light olefins is proportional to the hydrogen added during hydroprocessing.

Abstract

Fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass produces a renewable liquid fuel called pyrolysis oil that is the cheapest liquid fuel produced from biomass today. Here we show that pyrolysis oils can be converted into industrial commodity chemical feedstocks using an integrated catalytic approach that combines hydroprocessing with zeolite catalysis. The hydroprocessing increases the intrinsic hydrogen content of the pyrolysis oil, producing polyols and alcohols. The zeolite catalyst then converts these hydrogenated products into light olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons in a yield as much as three times higher than that produced with the pure pyrolysis oil. The yield of aromatic hydrocarbons and light olefins from the biomass conversion over zeolite is proportional to the intrinsic amount of hydrogen added to the biomass feedstock during hydroprocessing. The total product yield can be adjusted depending on market values of the chemical feedstocks and the relative prices of the hydrogen and biomass.