The effect of torrefaction and ZSM-5 catalyst for hydrocarbon rich bio-oil production from co-pyrolysis of cellulose and low density polyethylene via microwave-assisted heating

This study aims to investigate the effect of microwave torrefaction and ZSM-5 catalyst for hydrocarbon rich bio-oil production from microwave co-pyrolysis of cellulose and low density polyethylene (LDPE). FTIR analysis displayed remarkable reductions of active hydroxyl and ether groups in microwave torrefied cellulose (MTC), demonstrating that cellulose was less stable than MTC. GC/MS analysis indicated that the hydrocarbons content was ranged from 18.36% to 54.94% in the obtained bio-oils under different conditions, and the maximum hydrocarbons content (54.94%) which also contained the highest aromatic hydrocarbons (19.49%) was obtained from MTC catalytic co-pyrolysis. Microwave-assisted Thermogravimetric analyzer (MW-TGA) analysis showed that MTC catalytic co-pyrolysis apparently shifted the major thermal degradation to a lower temperature area, an evident synergistic effect was observed during MTC catalytic co-pyrolysis. Kinetics study revealed that the activation energy was significantly reduced from 97.87 kJ/mol to 63.86 kJ/mol for co-pyrolysis and MTC catalytic co-pyrolysis, respectively. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigates the production of hydrocarbon rich bio-oil from the microwave co-pyrolysis of cellulose and LDPE using microwave torrefaction and ZSM-5 catalyst. Results showed that MTC catalytic co-pyrolysis led to the highest hydrocarbons content and the highest aromatic hydrocarbons content. The activation energy for co-pyrolysis and MTC catalytic co-pyrolysis was significantly reduced, demonstrating a synergistic effect during the process.