Comparison of co-refining of fast pyrolysis oil from Salix via catalytic cracking and hydroprocessing

Lignocellulosic biomass from energy crops, i.e., short rotation coppice willows such as Salix spp., can be used as feedstock for production of transportation biofuels. Biomass conversion via fast pyrolysis followed by co-refining with fossil oil in existing refinery infrastructure could enable a fast introduction of large-scale production of biofuels. In this study, Salix was first liquefied using ablative fast pyrolysis in a pilot scale unit. The resulting pyrolysis oil, rich in oxygenates, was thereafter co-refined in 20 wt% ratio with fossil feedstock using two separate technologies, a fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) laboratory unit and a continuous slurry hydro -processing pilot plant. In the FCC route, the pyrolysis oil was cracked at 798 K using a commercial FCC catalyst at atmospheric pressure, while in the hydroprocessing route, the oil was processed at 693 K and a hydrogen pressure of 15 MPa in the presence of an unsupported molybdenum sulfide catalyst. Both routes resulted in significant deoxygen-ation (97 wt% versus 93 wt%). It is feasible to co-refine pyrolysis oil using both methods, the main difference being that the hydroprocessing results in a significantly higher biogenic carbon yield from the pyrolysis oil to liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon products (92 wt%) but would in turn require input of H2. In the cracking route, besides the liquid product, a significant part of the biogenic carbon ends up as gas and as coke on the catalyst. The choice of route depends, among other factors, on the available amount of bio-oil and refining infrastructures.

Automated summary

Energy crops, such as Salix spp., can be used as feedstock for biofuel production. This study investigates the co-refining of pyrolysis oil from Salix with fossil oil using fluidized catalytic cracking and slurry hydro-processing technologies. Both methods achieved significant deoxygenation of the pyrolysis oil, with the hydro-processing route resulting in a higher biogenic carbon yield but requiring hydrogen input. The choice of route depends on factors such as available bio-oil and refining infrastructure.