Catalyst evaluation for catalytic biomass pyrolysis

Commercial catalysts, including zeolites (HZSM-5), fluid catalytic cracking (FGC) catalysts, transition metal catalysts (Fe/Cr), and aluminas, were su ccessfully evaluated in a fixed bed catalytic reactor using a mixture of mo del compounds to simulate biomass flash pyrolysis vapors. Successful criter ia including the stability index (SI), the water generation (WG), and the l oss of organics (LO) were introduced to monitor the effect of catalysts and ascertain major changes in the obtained liquid product composition. SI bei ng a measure of the effective carbonyls reduction after catalytic cracking reached 100% in the case of HZSM-5 catalysts, leading to the selective prod uction of aromatic hydrocarbons. Transition metal catalysts (Fe/Cr) lead to the selective production of phenol and light phenolics. Comparable trends were obtained using solid biomass in the catalytic fixed bed reactor.