Energy & Fuels, Vol.33, No.6, 5360-5367, 2019
Kinetic Study of an H-ZSM-5/Al MCM-41 Catalyst Mixture and Its Application in Lignocellulose Biomass Pyrolysis
The use of H-ZSM-S and Al MCM-41 in a two-stage system of mesoporous and microporous catalysts has been proved to improve the quality of bio-oil. Information about biomass pyrolysis kinetics is important to evaluate biomass as a feedstock for fuel or chemical production as well as efficient design and control of thermochemical processes. In this study, the catalytic pyrolysis kinetics of lignocellulose biomass with a mixed catalyst of H-ZSM-5 and Al-MCM-41 at different ratios is analyzed. The derived activation energies are determined using the Coats-Redfern model and an Avrami mechanism for first order chemical reactions (A1, F1). Bench-scale experiments as well as quantifications of the resulted benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) yields have also been investigated. The thermogravimetric analysis DTG results show that the presence of catalyst mixtures has significant effects on the fractions of volatile matter from lignocellulose biomass. Reactivity profiles have been obtained in the temperature range of 180 to 360 degrees C. The results show that the energy activation for lignocellulose biomass at a heating rate of 10 K min(-1) is 134.64 kJ mol(-1) and that the value decreases when using catalysts. However, when the heating rate is increased, the activation energy from the catalytic experiments is 6.3-66.0% higher than that from the biomass pyrolysis experiment. This is due to the production of coke. Overall, a H-ZSM-5/Al MCM-41 ratio of 3:1 is found to be the best catalyst ratio in cracking hemicellulose and cellulose compared to other catalyst mixtures that were studied. The same catalyst ratio also attains the best interaction, in terms of a BTX product selectivity. The optimum activity of this catalyst mixture is reached at a temperature of 500 degrees C.