Probing the effect of Cu-SrO loading on catalyst supports (ZSM-5, Y-zeolite, activated carbon, Al2O3, and ZrO2) for aromatics production during catalytic co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste cooking oil

In this work, Cu-SrO bimetallic catalyst was synthesised and examined for catalytic co-pyrolysis of ironbark (IB) and waste cooking oil (WCO) using Py-GC/MS. The effect of catalyst supports (ZSM-5, Y-zeolite, activated carbon, Al2O3, and ZrO2) on aromatic hydrocarbons yield was studied. The effect of catalyst support on the selectivity of gasoline (C8-C14), diesel (C15-C17), and heavy oil (>C20) components of bio-oil were studied. Non-catalytic co-pyrolysis of IB and WCO produced a heavy oil component of 58.7% (>C20). SrO initiated a ketonization reaction that converted carboxylic acids into new C-C bonds. The addition of Cu effectively promoted secondary cracking and aromatization reactions enhancing the hydrocarbon yield. Cu-SrO/ZSM-5 and CuSrO/Y-zeolite produced low acid content of 4.43% and 12.5%, respectively. Overall, the bimetallic catalyst CuSrO/ZSM-5 significantly increased the amount of C8-C14 compounds to 87.28% and reduced compounds over C20 to 1.19%.

Automated summary

The effect of a Cu-SrO bimetallic catalyst on the catalytic co-pyrolysis of ironbark and waste cooking oil was investigated. It was found that the catalyst supports had an impact on the yield of aromatic hydrocarbons and the selectivity of different components in the bio-oil. The Cu-SrO/ZSM-5 catalyst significantly increased the production of C8-C14 compounds and reduced compounds over C20.