Enhancement of bio-oil yield and selectivity and kinetic study of catalytic pyrolysis of rice straw over transition metal modified ZSM-5 catalyst

This study aims to investigate the effects of transition metal modified ZSM-5 on biomass (rice straw) pyrolysis via microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP) for bio-oil production. XRD and TPD was used to analyze differences between the prepared catalysts. In the experiments, the prepared catalysts were used in ex-situ reactor. The yield of bio-oil from MAP of rice straw using transition metal modified catalysts significantly increased compared to the control. GC/MS analysis of the bio-oil further revealed that cobalt, nickel and zinc transition metal modified ZSM-5 catalyst improved bio-oil compound selectivity. Aldehydes/ketones and phenols were the most abundant groups of compounds present; composing more than 50% on average of the bio-oil. The thermal behavior of biomass catalytic pyrolysis was carried out by TGA, and the reaction kinetics of this process was analyzed.