Enhanced production of levoglucosenone from pretreatment assisted catalytic pyrolysis of waste paper

A new method was developed for the selective production of levoglucosenone (LGO) from catalytic pyrolysis of waste paper. Copy paper (CP) was selected as the representative waste paper and subjected to single or combined pretreatment with ethanol and HCl solutions. The influences of pretreatment method, acid concentration, and pretreatment temperature were systematically investigated to reveal their impacts on the physicochemical properties and pyrolytic characteristics of CP as well as LGO formation. The catalytic pyrolysis experiments of pretreated CP were conducted using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and lab-scale device under different pyrolysis temperatures and sample/catalyst ratios. The results showed that the combined ethanol-HCl pretreatment was the most conducive to LGO production, with the optimal pretreatment conditions of acid concentration of 23% and pretreatment temperature of 80 degrees C. With phosphoric acid-activated carbon (PAC) as the catalyst, the maximum yields of LGO reached 18.15 wt% and 14.76 wt% at 260 degrees C from Py-GC/MS and lab-scale experiments with sample/catalyst ratios of 4 and 5, respectively. Compared with cellulose and biomass materials, catalytic pyrolysis of pretreated CP had the advantages of high LGO yield and low production temperature.

Automated summary

A new method for selectively producing levoglucosenone (LGO) from catalytic pyrolysis of waste paper was developed. Combined pre-treatment with ethanol and HCl showed the highest yield of LGO. Using phosphoric acid-activated carbon as the catalyst enabled higher LGO production at lower temperatures. Catalytic pyrolysis of waste paper had advantages over traditional materials in terms of LGO yield and production temperature.