Biofuel production from olive pomace via thermal and catalytic pyrolysis using an RFCC catalyst

Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of olive pomace as a second generation of biomass for the production of valuable bio-oil has been investigated. The achieved results indicate that the maximum bio-oil production yield through the non-catalytic pyrolysis process is 56% at a temperature of 500 degrees C, with a high content of oxygenated compounds. Since the main focus of this study was the catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis-derived bio-oil to valuable fuels, an industrial residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) catalyst has been examined using different catalyst to biomass ratios. For a catalyst to biomass ratio of 0.5, the highest bio-oil production yield was 44 wt% at 500 degrees C and for a catalyst to biomass ratio of 5, the highest bio-oil yield was 39 wt% at 400 degrees C. The obtained experimental results indicate that, although the bio-oil production yield decreases through catalytic pyrolysis, application of RFCC catalysts reduces the oxygenated compounds as undesirable products and increases aromatic and cyclic compound content in the bio-oil, significantly. By increasing the temperature, the production of aromatic compounds as valuable products intensifies, and this compound group is identified as the main content of the derived bio-oil. It is inferred that RFCC catalysts are appropriate candidates for use in the pyrolysis process for developing biofuel production on an industrial scale. (c) 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.