In situ catalytic pyrolysis of Jatropha wastes using ZSM-5 from hydrothermal alkaline fusion of fly ash

Publication date: Available online 1 February 2019Source: Journal of Analytical and Applied PyrolysisAuthor(s): S. Vichaphund, P. Wimuktiwan, V. Sricharoenchaikul, D. AtongAbstractIn this work, ZSM-5 catalysts was successfully synthesized from fly ash via alkali fusion followed by hydrothermal treatment with the initial SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of 24 and 40 (HZSM5-FA). HZSM-5 synthesized with SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of 40 exhibited superior physical and textural properties such as higher crystallinity, larger surface area, and smaller particle size. After synthesis, the catalytic activity of HZSM5-FA with SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of 40 was investigated via fast pyrolysis of Jatropha wastes in order to upgrade the evolved vapor using Py-GC/MS technique. In addition, the ZSM-5 prepared from chemical reagents (HZSM5-CV) were evaluated for comparison. The pyrolysis temperature was set at 500 °C with the Jatropha wastes to catalyst ratio of 1:1-1:10. The major components from non-catalytic fast pyrolysis were acids (51%) and nitrogen containing compounds (20%). Other organic compounds were ketones, alcohols, esters, ethers, phenols and sugars. The presence of HZSM5-FA contributed to the elimination of undesirable oxygenated compounds such as fatty acids which could mitigate problem regarding acidity and instability in bio-oil. In addition, this synthesized material also remarkably improved the hydrocarbon selectivity, especially aromatic hydrocarbons. Higher catalyst contents had positive effect o...

Source: Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis - February 3, 2019 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research