Nano-catalysts for upgrading bio-oil: Catalytic decarboxylation and hydrodeoxygenation

• Main Authors: Uemura, Y., Tran, N.T.T., Naqvi, S.R., Nishiyama, N.
• Format: Article
• Published: American Institute of Physics Inc. 2017
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85029826678&doi=10.1063%2f1.4999852&partnerID=40&md5=51296d6922912b81cd075d6eac9249b4; http://eprints.utp.edu.my/20025/

Bio-oil is a mixture of oxygenated chemicals produced by fast pyrolysis of lignocellulose, and has attracted much attention recently because the raw material is renewable. Primarily, bio-oil can be used as a replacement of heavy oil. But it is not highly recommended due to bio-oil's inferior properties: high acidity and short shelf life. Upgrading of bio-oil is therefore one of the important technologies nowadays, and is categorized into the two: (A) decrarboxylation/decarbonylation by solid acid catalysts and (B) hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) by metallic catalysts. In our research group, decarboxylation of bio-oil by zeolites and HDO of guaiacol (a model compound of bio-oil) have been investigated. In this paper, recent developments of these upgrading reactions in our research group will be introduced. © 2017 Author(s).