Catalytic Upgrading of Bio-oils via Bimolecular and Monomolecular Deoxygenation
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USyd Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
Masters by ResearchAuthor/s
Wang, Lei ZhiAbstract
With the concern on climatic and reserve aspects of conventional fossil fuels, carbon-neutral bio-oils become popular in recent decades. However, bio-oils need to be upgraded by decreasing the large amount of oxygenated and acidic compounds to enhance the heating value and stability. ...
See moreWith the concern on climatic and reserve aspects of conventional fossil fuels, carbon-neutral bio-oils become popular in recent decades. However, bio-oils need to be upgraded by decreasing the large amount of oxygenated and acidic compounds to enhance the heating value and stability. With the expanded production of bio-oils, the related by-products, most of which are realized as bio-wastes, are largely produced from bio-refinery. In fact, a portion of the by-products can be transferred to valuable chemicals by further processes. Thus, the utilization of by-products from bio-refinery process also attracts great attention due to the huge potential market of value-added chemicals. To further study and understand the above-mentioned challenges, two main investigations were carried out in this thesis. The first investigation focuses on the removal of acidic compounds from bio-oils. Acetic acid was selected as a main model compound for the research. Bimolecular deoxygenation of acetic acid was studied on Ca/Zn/AlOx and Ca(Na)/AlOx mixed oxides. Effect of reaction conditions, influence of other model compounds, optimum atomic ratios and stability and reusability of catalysts were studied. Finally, Ca/Zn/AlOx and Ca(Na)/AlOx mixed oxides exhibited very high activity for the deoxygenation of acetic acid. Highly stable performance was observed on Ca(Na)/AlOx which showed 100% conversion of acetic acid in 400 h constantly. The second part of this thesis focuses on deoxygenation of glycerol. Glycerol is a largely produced by-product of bio-diesel which has attracted large numbers of interests. Dehydration of glycerol was carried out on ZSM-5 zeolites. The acidity of H and Al-exchanged type ZSM-5 zeolites were investigated by assistance of solid-state NMR. Moreover, the effect of acidity on dehydration of glycerol was tested and discussed. Finally, it was found that the conversion of glycerol could be enhanced by ZSM-5 with extraframework alumina.
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See moreWith the concern on climatic and reserve aspects of conventional fossil fuels, carbon-neutral bio-oils become popular in recent decades. However, bio-oils need to be upgraded by decreasing the large amount of oxygenated and acidic compounds to enhance the heating value and stability. With the expanded production of bio-oils, the related by-products, most of which are realized as bio-wastes, are largely produced from bio-refinery. In fact, a portion of the by-products can be transferred to valuable chemicals by further processes. Thus, the utilization of by-products from bio-refinery process also attracts great attention due to the huge potential market of value-added chemicals. To further study and understand the above-mentioned challenges, two main investigations were carried out in this thesis. The first investigation focuses on the removal of acidic compounds from bio-oils. Acetic acid was selected as a main model compound for the research. Bimolecular deoxygenation of acetic acid was studied on Ca/Zn/AlOx and Ca(Na)/AlOx mixed oxides. Effect of reaction conditions, influence of other model compounds, optimum atomic ratios and stability and reusability of catalysts were studied. Finally, Ca/Zn/AlOx and Ca(Na)/AlOx mixed oxides exhibited very high activity for the deoxygenation of acetic acid. Highly stable performance was observed on Ca(Na)/AlOx which showed 100% conversion of acetic acid in 400 h constantly. The second part of this thesis focuses on deoxygenation of glycerol. Glycerol is a largely produced by-product of bio-diesel which has attracted large numbers of interests. Dehydration of glycerol was carried out on ZSM-5 zeolites. The acidity of H and Al-exchanged type ZSM-5 zeolites were investigated by assistance of solid-state NMR. Moreover, the effect of acidity on dehydration of glycerol was tested and discussed. Finally, it was found that the conversion of glycerol could be enhanced by ZSM-5 with extraframework alumina.
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Date
2013-03-31Licence
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, School of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringDepartment, Discipline or Centre
Graduate School of Engineering and Information TechnologiesAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare