Engineering Commons^™

Lab-Scale Fast-Hydropyrolysis And Vapor-Phase Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation For Producing Liquid Fuel Range Hydrocarbons From Intact Biomass, Vinod Kumar Venkatakrishnan

Open Access Dissertations

Liquid transportation fuels are primarily produced from petroleum-based non-renewable carbon sources. Sustainably available lignocellulosic biomass, as a renewable form of atmospheric carbon, could be utilized to produce hydrocarbon-based fuels with high energy density. One of the process options for this conversion is the H2Bioil process, where biomass is rapidly heated in a hydrogen environment to produce fast-hydropyrolysis vapors that are catalytically upgraded in downstream hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) to produce hydrocarbons. This process has been modeled to have high carbon and energy efficiencies of ~70% and ~75%, respectively.

This dissertation presents the results of a lab-scale experimental proof-of-concept for the H2Bioil process …

High-Pressure Vapor-Phase Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation Of Lignin-Derived Compounds To Hydrocarbons On Bimetallic Catalysts In The Range Of 0.2-2.4 Mpa., Sara Lynn Yohe

Open Access Dissertations

Biomass, as the only renewable source of carbon, presents a sustainable alternative to liquid fossil fuels for the production of renewable transportation fuels and chemicals. The lignin portion of biomass poses a significant challenge in the upgrading and conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels and chemicals, and in many current biorefineries is not utilized. However, the lignin fraction is a valuable feedstock due to its aromatic structure, lower O:C ratio than cellulose and hemicellulose, and high energy content (up to 40%) and weight fraction (average 25 wt%) of biomass. Several processes (including fast-pyrolysis, fast-hydropyrolysis, and liquid phase processing) are able …

Pyrolysis Oils: Characterization, Stability Analysis, And Catalytic Upgrading To Fuels And Chemicals, Tushar Vispute

Open Access Dissertations

There is a growing need to develop the processes to produce renewable fuels and chemicals due to the economical, political, and environmental concerns associated with the fossil fuels. One of the most promising methods for a small scale conversion of biomass into liquid fuels is fast pyrolysis. The liquid product obtained from the fast pyrolysis of biomass is called pyrolysis oil or bio-oil. It is a complex mixture of more than 300 compounds resulting from the depolymerization of biomass building blocks, cellulose; hemi-cellulose; and lignin. Bio-oils have low heating value, high moisture content, are acidic, contain solid char particles, are …