Elucidating Zeolite Deactivation Mechanisms During Biomass Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis from Model Reactions and Zeolite Syntheses

Zeolites are crystalline microporous aluminosilicates that have numerous applications in industry, specifically in catalysis, separation and adsorption. Zeolites catalyze the conversion of biomass-derived pyrolysis vapors into hydrocarbons; however, zeolites frequently suffer from rapid deactivation under pyrolysis conditions. Methanol-to-hydrocarbon processes are closely related to biomass upgrading reactions and several proposed mechanisms are discussed to provide mechanistic insight for biomass upgrading with zeolites. Syntheses of novel zeolites have potential to relieve deactivation factors including mass diffusion limitations of bulky molecules and accumulation of carbonaceous coke on the catalyst surface. Catalytic activity of conventional zeolites is presented to provide insights to evaluate the novel zeolites. Recent advances of the new zeolite structures are also presented in the context of potential future directions for the field.