Study on co-pyrolysis and products of Chlorella vulgaris and rice straw catalyzed by activated carbon/HZSM-5 additives

The weight loss characteristics, product distribution and bio-oil composition of co-pyrolysis of rice straw (RS) and Chlorella vulgaris (CV) were investigated by microwave oven. Then, the catalytic effect of activated carbon (AC) and HZSM-5 on these characteristics were studied. Results showed that AC strongly improved co-pyrolysis weight loss characteristics and obtained maximum average weight loss rate (Ra) at 30% addition with 0.01639 wt.%/s. While HZSM-5 promoted the characteristics as addition was lower than 10%. In the case of compound additives, 20% A7H3 obtained the maximum Ra (0.01413 wt.%/s). Furthermore, both single AC and HZSM-5 showed negative effect on bio-oil production, while 20% A7H3 (AC/HZSM-5 = 7:3) achieved the maximum production (24%). For bio-oil composition, 30% A10H0 showed strong selectivity for phenol and N-heterocycle and 10% A0H10 showed strong aromatization capacity, and the addition of 20% A7H3 increased the hydrocarbons content from 20.79% to 31.63% compared with the blank group.

Automated summary

The study investigated the weight loss characteristics, product distribution, and bio-oil composition of co-pyrolysis of rice straw and Chlorella vulgaris using microwave oven. The catalytic effects of activated carbon and HZSM-5 were also studied. The results showed that activated carbon significantly improved the weight loss characteristics, while HZSM-5 had a positive effect only at low addition levels. Compound additives increased the bio-oil production and hydrocarbons content.