Sustainable Aromatic Production from Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of 2-Methylfuran over Metal-Modified ZSM-5

Abstract

The catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of bio-derived furans offers a promising approach for sustainable aromatic production. ZSM-5 modified by different metal species (Zn, Mo, Fe, and Ga) was employed in the CFP of bio-derived furans for enhancing aromatic production. The effects of metal species, metal loadings, and the weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) on the product distributions from the CFP of 2-methylfuran (MF) were systemically investigated. It is found that the introduction of Zn, Mo, Fe, and Ga on ZSM-5 significantly increases the MF conversion and aromatic yields. The maximum MF conversions of 75.49 and 69.03% are obtained, respectively, by Fe-ZSM-5 and Ga-ZSM-5, which boost the aromatic yield by 34.5 and 42.7% compared to ZSM-5. The optimal loading of Fe on ZSM-5 is 2%. Additionally, the highest aromatic yield of 40.03% is achieved by 2%Fe-ZSM-5 at a WHSV of 2 h−1. The catalyst characterization demonstrates that the synergistic effect of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites in Fe-ZSM-5 is responsible for achieving the efficient aromatization of MF. The key to designing improved zeolite catalysts for MF aromatization is the introduction of large numbers of new Lewis acid sites without a significant loss of Brønsted acid sites in ZSM-5. These findings can provide guidelines for the rational design of better zeolite catalysts used in the CFP of biomass and its derived furans.

Advanced Thermochemical Conversion Approaches for Green Hydrogen Production from Crop Residues

“…The formation of tar as a byproduct of catalytic pyrolysis and the disposal of spent catalysts constitutes a major pollutant to air and underground water. The emission of CO, NOx, SO 2 , and other GHGs exacerbates global warming and environmental degradation [5,47]. Further research is needed to [47] and (b) catalytic flash pyrolysis [48] devise means of bringing down the processing temperature, prevent product contamination, and devise effective means of disposing of the spent catalyst to allow for scalability and industrial application.…”

“…Figure 5: Schematic representation of (a) catalytic fast pyrolysis[47] and (b) catalytic flash pyrolysis[48] …”