Valorization of fluid petroleum coke for efficient catalytic destruction of biomass gasification tar

Xurui Zhang; Zezhou Chen; Long Cheng; Linlin Xu; Xiaotao Bi; Qingya Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127297

Valorization of fluid petroleum coke for efficient catalytic destruction of biomass gasification tar

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Feb 15;424(Pt A):127297. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127297. Epub 2021 Sep 24.

Authors

Xurui Zhang¹, Zezhou Chen², Long Cheng³, Linlin Xu⁴, Xiaotao Bi⁵, Qingya Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Clean Energy Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
² College of Engineering, Huzhou University, Huzhou 313000, China.
³ Clean Energy Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, UK.
⁵ Clean Energy Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Electronic address: tony.bi@ubc.ca.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: qyliu@mail.buct.edu.cn.

PMID: 34601413
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127297

Abstract

Large volumes of waste petroleum coke stockpiled in open yard not only represent a huge loss of valuable material but also pose a significant risk to the environment. This work proposed an innovative strategy for waste petroleum coke valorization by exploring its catalytic performance of biomass gasification tar destruction. Waste petroleum coke was firstly activated by potassium hydroxide (KOH) to obtain high specific surface area as well as low sulfur and ash contents. Petroleum coke derived catalyst showed superior performance than a commercial activated carbon derived catalyst for destruction of naphthalene as the tar model compound. The petroleum coke derived catalyst exhibited 99.1% naphthalene destruction efficiency at 800 °C but deactivated quickly under N₂ atmosphere. Under H₂ and steam atmospheres, the catalytic activities were 98.6% and 96.5% for 8 h, respectively. To study the correlation between catalytic performance and the structure of carbon catalyst, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) analysis and Raman spectroscopy were performed on both fresh and spent catalysts. Results demonstrated that the hydrogen-rich groups (small rings and amorphous carbon) and oxygen-containing groups may account for the good resistance to coke deposition under H₂ and steam atmospheres.

Keywords: Activated carbon; Biomass gasification; Fluid coke; Naphthalene decomposition; Tar cracking.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomass
Catalysis
Coke*
Petroleum*
Steam

Substances

Coke
Petroleum
Steam