Catalytic Performance and Mechanism of Biomass Tar Reduction: Comparison among Various Carbon-based Catalysts

Supatchaya Konsomboon; Suneerat Fukuda

Authors

Supatchaya Konsomboon Energy Technology, The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment and Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
Suneerat Fukuda The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment and Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

Keywords:

Biomass, Tar, Carbon-based Catalyst, Pore Structures, AAEM Species

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the performance of carbon-based catalysts and the effect of temperature on decomposition of biomass tar. Three different carbon-based catalysts, i.e., commercial wood biochar (CB char), biochar prepared from slow pyrolysis of eucalyptus wood (EW char), and solid residue from the solvent extraction process of rice straw (RS residue) were tested. Their catalytic activities on the decomposition of naphthalene at 600-800°C were investigated and compared with those in the case of the thermal cracking experiment (without catalyst). Without catalyst, naphthalene conversion was only 25% at 800°C. The presence of catalyst promoted the conversion of naphthalene at all tested temperatures. The highest naphthalene conversion was 72% at 800°C in the presence of CB char. Among the three tested catalysts, CB char was found to have the best catalytic activity for naphthalene conversion due to its larger pore structures; this was followed by EW char and RS residue as the poorest catalyst. Characterization of the catalysts indicated that both pore structure and inherent AAEM species influenced the catalytic activity of carbon-based catalysts. However, the pore structure seem to have more impact on catalytic activity. In all cases, naphthalene decomposition is highly dependent on the temperature. The inherent alkali and alkali earth metallic (AAEM) species, i.e., K and Ca promoted the decomposition of naphthalene, while the presence of Si inhibited the catalytic effect of AAEM species through the formation of alkali silicate.

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