Catalytic hydro-pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass over dual Na2CO3/Al2O3 and Pt/Al2O3 catalysts using n-butane at ambient pressure

Abstract Hydro-pyrolysis of biomass was studied at 500 °C and atmospheric pressure, applying Al 2 O 3 supported platinum and sodium carbonate catalysts. CO chemisorption has shown that platinum particles are well dispersed in Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalyst while they get agglomerated in Pt–Na 2 CO 3 /Al 2 O 3 . The co-impregnated or sequentially impregnated Pt–Na/Al 2 O 3 catalysts have not shown improvement compared to either Na 2 CO 3 /Al 2 O 3 or Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalysts when it comes to quality of bio-oil. A dual bed system in which Na 2 CO 3 /Al 2 O 3 and Pt/Al 2 O 3 are packed in two consecutive beds has combined the advantages of all catalytic systems, resulting in high quality bio-oil with oxygen content 5.6 wt.% and HHV 42 MJ kg −1 . N-butane shows equivalent performance as hydrogen in hydro-pyrolysis of biomass, opening new possibility for economical hydrogen sources.