HYDROTREATMENT OF PYROLYSIS OILS FROM BIOMASS - REACTIVITY OF THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS AND PRELIMINARY TECHNOECONOMICSTUDY

This paper describes essential aspects of the hydrotreatment of pyroly tic oils in the light of results obtained until now at the Universite Catholique de Louvain. Stability of pyrolysis oils necessitates a two- step processing. A low temperature hydrotreatment enables stabilizatio n through reactions like olefin, carbonyl and carboxylic groups reduct ion. Further hydrotreatment aims at hydrodeoxygenation of phenols and hydrocracking of larger molecules. Results about catalysts, reaction c onditions and parameters enabling or influencing the control of the re action are summarized. Based on these laboratory data, a preliminary t echno-economical evaluation is made. 50 wt.-% yields in hydrocarbons f or deep hydrorefining of pyrolysis oils can be expected. Nevertheless, a moderate hydroconversion with partial elimination of oxygen would b e, economically, more advantageous.