Effective Cu/Re promoted Ni-supported γ-Al2O3 catalyst for upgrading algae bio-crude oil produced by hydrothermal liquefaction

Catalytic hydrotreating of algae bio-crude oil from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of Nannochloropsis sp. was performed. Different Ni-based catalysts, including Ni/gamma-Al2O3, Ni-Cu/gamma-Al2O3, Ni-Re/gamma-Al2O3, and Ni-Cu-Re/gamma-Al2O3, (10%Ni, 5%Cu, 2.5%Re) were used in upgrading of the bio-crude oil. Most catalytic systems could effectively eliminate S and decrease the N and O contents, and enhance more than 20% improvement in the higher heating value (HHV) of the bio-oil (34 to 41-45 MJ/kg). Introducing only Cu could enhance the C=O hydrogenation resulting in higher aromatic and alcohol compounds. While the addition of Re is effective for hydrodeoxygenation, it lowers denitrogenation due to amination reaction. Ni-Cu-Re/gamma-Al2O3 ternary alloy offered the best results on the overall performance, achieving the highest upgraded bio-oil yield of 58 wt% and the highest energy recovery in the upgrading process (ERupgrade) of 64.6%. As ER in HTL process (ERHTL) was ca. 71.8%, the overall ER (ERoverall) from algae biomass to upgraded bio-oil of 46.4% can be achieved for Ni-Cu-Re/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. Carbon efficiency approx. 47.7% can be attained as the carbon in the algae biomass feedstock was retained in the upgraded bio-oil. In addition, reaction pathways for the formation of different hydrotreated products catalyzed by mono-, bi-, and tri- metallic Ni-Cu-Re have been proposed.

Automated summary

The catalytic hydrotreating of algae bio-crude oil using different Ni-based catalysts showed improvements in eliminating sulfur, decreasing nitrogen and oxygen contents, and increasing the higher heating value of bio-oil. The Ni-Cu-Re/gamma-Al2O3 ternary alloy catalyst offered the best overall performance with the highest upgraded bio-oil yield and energy recovery in the upgrading process.