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Catalytic fast pyrolysis of walnut shell with K/AC catalyst for the production of phenolic-rich bio-oil

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Abstract

Potassium supported on commercial activated carbon (K/AC) catalysts were prepared and used for catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of walnut shell to produce phenolic-rich bio-oil. Pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) and fixed-bed CFP tests were performed to reveal the influences of pyrolytic temperature, potassium loading and catalyst-to-biomass (C-to-B) ratio on the product distribution. The Py–GC/MS results showed that the K5.79/AC catalyst in which the potassium loading was 5.79% exhibited the maximal improvement on the yield of phenolic compounds. Pyrolytic temperature significantly affected the total phenolic yield, which achieved the maximum value at 450 °C whether with or without catalysts. Moreover, the C-to-B ratio also dramatically affected the yield of phenolic compounds. The total phenolic yield raised with increasing C-to-B ratio, whereas the excessive C-to-B ratio (higher than 3:1) would lead to an obvious decrease in total phenolic yield. Overall, the yield of total phenolic compounds achieved the maximum value of 145.65 mg/g (14.57 wt%) at 450 °C under C-to-B ratio of 3:1 in Py–GC/MS runs. Meanwhile, the lab-scale experiments obtained the maximal total phenolic yield of 135.13 mg/g (13.51 wt%) at 450 °C under C-to-B ratio of 1:3.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51922040, 51821004), Grants from Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation (161051), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020DF01, 2019QN002, 2018ZD08) for financial support.

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  1. National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Power Generation Equipment, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

    Shan-wei Ma, Guan Zhang, Hang Li, Zhen-xi Zhang, Kai Li & Qiang Lu

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  1. Shan-wei Ma
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Correspondence to Qiang Lu.

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Ma, Sw., Zhang, G., Li, H. et al. Catalytic fast pyrolysis of walnut shell with K/AC catalyst for the production of phenolic-rich bio-oil. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 12, 2451–2462 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00799-7

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