The effects of catalysts on the conversion of organic matter and bio-fuel production in the microwave pyrolysis of sludge at different temperatures

Rui Ma (1) , Xiaofei Huang (1) , Yang Zhou (1) , Lin Fang (1) , Shichang Sun (1) , Peixin Zhang (1) , Xianghua Zhang (2) , Xuxin Zhao (1)

1 Shenzhen Univerisity [Shenzhen]
2 ISCR - Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes

Adding catalyst could improve the yields and qualities of bio-gas and bio-oil, and realize the oriented production. Results showed that the catalytic gas-production capacities of CaO were higher than those of Fe2O3, and the bio-gas yield at 800°C reached a maximum of 35.1%. Because the polar cracking active sites of CaO reduced the activation energy of the pyrolysis reaction and resulted in high catalytic cracking efficiencies. In addition, the quality of bio-oil produced by CaO was superior to that by Fe2O3, although the bio-oil yield of CaO was relatively weak. The light bio-fuel oriented catalytic pyrolysis could be realized when adding different catalysts. At 800°C, CaO was 45% higher than Fe2O3 in aspect of H2 production while Fe2O3 was 103% higher than CaO in aspect of CH4 production. Therefore, CaO was more suitable for H2 production and Fe2O3 was more suitable for CH4 production.

Keywords: Bio-fuel; CaO catalyst; Catalytic microwave pyrolysis; Fe(2)O(3) catalyst; Sludge

Domains: Chemical Sciences; Catalysis; Chemical Sciences; Chemical engineering; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Engineering

Rui Ma, Xiaofei Huang, Yang Zhou, Lin Fang, Shichang Sun, et al.. The effects of catalysts on the conversion of organic matter and bio-fuel production in the microwave pyrolysis of sludge at different temperatures. Bioresource Technology, 2017, 238, pp.616-623. ⟨10.1016/j.biortech.2017.04.103⟩. ⟨hal-01533329⟩