Bio-Oil Production in Fluidized Bed Reactor at Pilot Plant from Sugarcane Bagasse by Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis

Fast pyrolysis of biomass produces a liquid with a diverse spectrum of compounds. This work describes impact of adding calcium oxide as a catalyst for fast catalytic pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse in a fluidized bed reactor at pilot plant scale. The product distributions, bio-oil physical characteristics, and elemental analysis of products were determined. Rapid aging tests were performed on the oils at 80 °C to evaluate the impact of the catalyst on long term storage properties. Results showed that the presence of the catalyst (10 wt% loading) reduced the bio-oil oxygen content by 14%. The catalyst decreased the total bio-oil yield by 17 wt%, but reduced the water content in that oil and increased the gas yield. The presence of the catalyst did not affect the char yield. Over 150 compounds were identified by GC/MS and the distribution of the main functional groups was analyzed.