Catalytic steam reforming of volatiles released via pyrolysis of wood sawdust for hydrogen-rich gas production on Fe–Zn/Al2O3 nanocatalysts

Abstract

Abstract:Thermo-chemical processing of biomass is a promising alternative to produce renewable hydrogen as a clean fuel or renewable syngas for a sustainable chemical industry. However, the fast deactivation of catalysts due to coke formation and sintering limits the application of catalytic thermo-chemical processing in the emerging bio-refining industry. In this research, Fe-Zn/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalysts have been prepared for the production of hydrogen through pyrolysis catalytic reforming of wood sawdust. Through characterization, it was found that Fe and Zn were well distributed on the surface with a narrow particle size. During the reactions, the yield of hydrogen increased with the increase of Zn content, as Zn is an efficient metal promoter for enhancing the performance of the Fe active site in the reaction. The 20% Fe/Al 2 O 3 catalyst with Zn/Al ratio of 1:1 showed the best performance in the process in relation to the hydrogen production and resistance to coke formation on the surface of the reacted catalyst. All the catalysts showed ultra-high stability during the process and nearly no sintering were observed on the used catalysts. Therefore, the nanocatalysts prepared in this work from natural-abundant and low-cost metals have promising catalytic properties (high metal dispersion and stability) to produce H 2 -rich syngas with optimal H 2 /CO ratio from the thermo-chemical processing of biomass.

Coke formation and deactivation during catalytic reforming of biomass and waste pyrolysis products: A review

“…At the catalyst level, many attempts have been performed to control the deposition of coke in these reactions or minimize its impact. Changing the morphology of the metal (Ni) has recurrently been used to control catalyst deactivation, either by decreasing the particle size [254,255], changing the chemical environment of Ni [256], using a different synthetic pathway [257], using different calcination/reduction methods [144], or using other metals such as the incorporation of Co [258,259], the use of Fe-Zn [260] or other metals all together [261]. On the other side, several attempts have been made to control the catalyst deactivation trough support modification, either by changing porosity or metal placement on the support [28], or by using other conventional supports such as ZrO2, SiO2, MgO, TiO2 [262] or unconventional ones [263].…”

Progress on Catalyst Development for the Steam Reforming of Biomass and Waste Plastics Pyrolysis Volatiles: A Review

“…Santamaria et al, 2020; 199 Li et al, 2013; 86 Tomishige et al, 2003; 96 Guan et al, 2012; 183 Kaewpanha et al, 2013; 184 Chen et al, 2015. 81 …”

“…A combination of two fixed bed reactors for the pyrolysis and reforming steps has been widely used due to its simple design and operation as well as limited investment cost. The most common approach is the operation in a batch regime with the pyrolysis step being performed under slow pyrolysis conditions by using heating rates below 50 °C min –1 . ,− Thus, the pyrolysis volatiles formed throughout the heating process are transferred to the fixed bed reforming reactor, which operates under isothermal regime at the desired reforming temperature. The main shortcoming of this reactor configuration lies in its scaling up due to the poor heat transfer rate and complex control of operating conditions in the pyrolysis step.…”

“…Influence of the active phase on H 2 production in the in-line process of biomass pyrolysis and steam reforming. Santamaria et al, 2020; Li et al, 2013; Tomishige et al, 2003; Guan et al, 2012; Kaewpanha et al, 2013; Chen et al, 2015 …”

Development of Heterogeneous Catalysts for Thermo-Chemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass

“…Biomass steam gasification and steam reforming of volatiles from pyrolysis of wood or biomass tar were also conducted with the use of Fe-based systems [89][90][91]. However, investigations of the use of iron catalysts in the abovementioned process have not been very popular so far.…”