Investigation of in situ and ex situ catalytic pyrolysis of miscanthus × giganteus using a PyGC-MS microsystem and comparison with a bench-scale spouted-bed reactor

Abstract

The objective of the present work is to explore the particularities of a micro-scale experimental apparatus with regards to the study of catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of biomass. In situ and ex situ CFP of miscanthus × giganteus were performed with ZSM-5 catalyst. Higher permanent gas yields and higher selectivity to aromatics in the bio-oil were observed from ex situ CFP, but higher bio-oil yields were recorded during in situ CFP. Solid yields were comparable across both configurations. The results from in situ and ex situ PyGC were also compared with the product yields and selectivities obtained using a bench-scale, spouted-bed reactor. The bio-oil composition and overall product distribution for the PyGC ex situ configuration more closely resembled that of the spouted-bed reactor. The coke/char from in situ CFP in the PyGC was very similar in nature to that obtained from the spouted-bed reactor.

Keywords: Biomass catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP); Ex situ vs. in situ CFP; Pyrolysis gas chromatography (PyGC); Spouted-bed reactor; ZSM-5 catalyst.