Effect of pretreatment on product distribution of two‐step catalytic pyrolysis of spirogyra

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating the effect of pretreatment on product distribution of two‐step catalytic pyrolysis of spirogyra. The treatment of fresh spirogyra, putrefied spirogyra, and microbe‐treated spirogyra was carried out under moist conditions. The earth burial in anaerobic conditions and microbe treatment of spirogyra were performed for biological transformation of long‐chain and macromolecular compounds into hydrogen‐rich and carbon‐rich compounds. In later stage, two‐step pyrolysis of the samples was performed to reduce the amount of water and highly oxygenated compounds, and to produce efficient liquid and gaseous fuels. Both steps of pyrolysis were catalyzed by Portland cement. However, prior to second step of pyrolysis, the pyrolysate of each sample was separated into volatile combustible liquid and a paste like organic material. The organic paste was used as feedstock for second step of pyrolysis and converted into oil and highly combustible gas. The oil product was further analyzed using GC‐FID and GC‐MS techniques. The experimental results revealed that the enzymatic and microbial putrefaction of spirogyra would be helpful in upgrading the fuel quality and yield of the pyrolytic conversion. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 775–780, 2017

Preparation of upgraded bio‐oil using two‐step catalytic pyrolysis of fresh, putrefied, and microbe‐treated biomass

“…The results of this study are presented in Table 3. It can be seen in the table that oil obtained from the fresh biomass contains compounds similar to those reported in our previous work [30,48]. Despite of similarity, there are differences in composition of the tested samples mainly due to difference in temperature and nature of the used catalyst.…”

“…. The amount of residue, obtained after distillation of the samples, was found different for each sample . The residue of fresh, putrefied, and microbe‐treated samples was measured about 27.37%, 7.1% and 31.67%, respectively.…”

“…The tested biomass samples produced reddish brown bio‐oil during 1 st step of pyrolysis. It was observed that none of these preliminary bio‐oils were combustible due to their water and acid contents . However, each of the oil was found to contain a partially miscible content of relatively low density, which cannot be separated by the separatory funnel.…”

“…Furthermore, the molecular holes are believed to have Van der Waal forces, which have specific chemical effects and may act as cast for the preparation of a variety of chemical compounds. It has been reported in our previous work that the relative amount of catalyst is responsible for variation in the relative amount of the fractions [30,34,35,48]. In the case of cement catalyzed reactions, both the chemical composition and structural features of the catalyst are responsible for catalytic activity.…”

Production of Highly Upgraded Bio-oils through Two-Step Catalytic Pyrolysis of Water Hyacinth

“…Cement is a low cost clinkered material having solid oxides and reactive pores. The same catalyst was also used in catalytic pyrolysis of pretreated spirogyra and wasted soap. , The use of invasive and wildly growing plants, like water hyacinth biomass, may also lower the cost of the bio-oils. Furthermore, the herbaceous nature and low lignin content of the water hyacinth facilitate the pyrolysis process.…”