Fast microwave-assisted pyrolysis of microalgae using microwave absorbent and HZSM-5 catalyst

Fernanda Cabral Borges; Qinglong Xie; Min Min; Luis Antônio Rezende Muniz; Marcelo Farenzena; Jorge Otávio Trierweiler; Paul Chen; Roger Ruan

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.100

Fast microwave-assisted pyrolysis of microalgae using microwave absorbent and HZSM-5 catalyst

Bioresour Technol. 2014 Aug:166:518-26. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.100. Epub 2014 Jun 2.

Authors

Fernanda Cabral Borges¹, Qinglong Xie², Min Min², Luis Antônio Rezende Muniz³, Marcelo Farenzena³, Jorge Otávio Trierweiler³, Paul Chen², Roger Ruan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Biorefining and Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, United States; GIMSCOP and Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Engenheiro Luiz Englert, Prédio 12204, 90040-040, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil.
² Center for Biorefining and Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, United States.
³ GIMSCOP and Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Engenheiro Luiz Englert, Prédio 12204, 90040-040, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil.
⁴ Center for Biorefining and Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, United States. Electronic address: ruanx001@umn.edu.

PMID: 24951938
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.100

Abstract

Fast microwave-assisted pyrolysis (fMAP) in the presence of a microwave absorbent (SiC) and catalyst (HZSM-5) was tested on a Chlorella sp. strain and on a Nannochloropsis strain. The liquid products were characterized, and the effects of temperature and catalyst:biomass ratio were analyzed. For Chlorella sp., a temperature of 550 °C, with no catalyst were the optimal conditions, resulting in a maximum bio-oil yield of 57 wt.%. For Nannochloropsis, a temperature of 500 °C, with 0.5 of catalyst ratio were shown to be the optimal condition, resulting in a maximum bio-oil yield of 59 wt.%. These results show that the use of microwave absorbents in fMAP increased bio-oil yields and quality, and it is a promising technology to improve the commercial application and economic outlook of microwave pyrolysis technology. Additionally, the use of a different catalyst needs to be considered to improve the bio-oil characteristics.

Keywords: Bio-oil; Fast pyrolysis; Microalgae; Microwave; Model compounds.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Biofuels*
Biomass
Catalysis
Charcoal / chemistry
Chlorella / chemistry*
Conservation of Energy Resources / methods
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Microalgae / chemistry*
Microwaves*
Temperature

Substances

Biofuels
biochar
Charcoal