Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Vapor

Fast pyrolysis of biomass shows great potential as a means of efficiently producing carbonaceous liquids that can be used as feedstocks for the production of transportation fuels and chemicals.  However, the resulting oils require extensive hydrotreatment to improve their properties and upgrading the vapors before they are condensed should be considered.  This presentation will discuss ongoing work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to investigate pyrolysis vapor upgrading.  In particular, we are interested in how the catalysts and reactor conditions for the upgrading step affect the composition and properties of the resulting oil.  We have used laboratory reactors to study catalytic transformation of biomass pyrolysis vapors and have characterized the products in the gas phase using Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometry (MBMS) and GC/MS.  We have also condensed oils from packed bed, entrained flow and fluidized bed reactors.  The composition and physical properties of the oils produced from these reactors and their comparison to the gas phase measurements will be presented.  These results will be discussed with regard to the viability of the entire conversion process, including potential refinery introduction.