Catalytic pyrolysis of microalgae Tetraselmis suecica and characterization study using in situ Synchrotron-based Infrared Microscopy

Abstract In this study, the direct and catalytic pyrolysis of microalgae Tetraselmis suecica was conducted to determine the composition of bio-oil obtained. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that at high heating rate, the decomposition temperature and volatile matter evolution increased. Direct pyrolysis results identified the optimum temperature for bio-oil production to be 400 °C. The bio-oil produced from catalytic pyrolysis showed a decrease in the oxygenated compounds which indicate that the addition of zeolite catalyst (Si/Al = 30, 60) can improve the bio-oil composition. However, zeolite catalyst (Si/Al = 30) showed a higher decrease in the oxygenated compounds compared to (Si/Al = 60). Furthermore, this study found that some functional groups are still present in the char of T . suecica biomass at 550 °C (5 °C/min heating rate), while most already disappeared at 350 °C (150 °C/min heating rate) when using in situ Synchrotron-based Infrared Microscopy.