A review on catalytic & non-catalytic bio-oil upgrading in supercritical fluids

Abstract

This review article summarizes the key published research on the topic of bio-oil upgrading using catalytic and non-catalytic supercritical fluid (SCF) conditions. The precious metal catalysts Pd, Ru and Pt on various supports are frequently chosen for catalytic bio-oil upgrading in SCFs. This is reportedly due to their favourable catalytic activity during the process including hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and esterification, which leads to improvements in liquid yield, heating value, and pH of the upgraded bio-oil. Due to the costs associated with precious metal catalysts, some researchers have opted for non-precious metal catalysts such as acidic HZSM-5 which can promote esterification in supercritical ethanol. On the other hand, SCFs have been effectively used to upgrade crude bio-oil without a catalyst. Supercritical methanol, ethanol, and water are most commonly used and demonstrate catalyst like activities such as facilitating esterification reactions and reducing solid yield by alcoholysis and hydrolysis, respectively.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

bio-oil / upgrading / supercritical / review

References

[1] Brown R C, Jenkins B M, Baxter L L, Koppejan J, Bain R L, Broer K, Dayton D C, Turk B, Gupta R, Venderbosch R H, Thermochemical Processing of Biomass Conversion into Fuels, Chemicals and Power. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2011, 157–188

[2] Holm-Nielsen J B, Ehimen E A. Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy and Biorefining. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2016, 3–13

[3] Bridgwater A V. Review of fast pyrolysis of biomass and product upgrading. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2012, 38: 68–94

[4] Demirbas A. Competitive liquid biofuels from biomass. Applied Energy, 2011, 88(1): 17–28

[5] Oasmaa A, Czernik S. Fuel oil quality of biomass pyrolysis oils state of the art for the end users. Energy & Fuels, 1999, 13(4): 914–921

[6] Xiu S, Shahbazi A. Bio-oil production and upgrading research: A review. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2012, 16(7): 4406–4414

[7] Jessop P G, Leitner W. Chemical Synthesis Using Supercritical Fluids. New Jersey: Wiley, 2008, 1–65

[8] Baiker A. Supercritical fluids in heterogeneous catalysis. Chemical Reviews, 1999, 99(2): 453–473

[9] Tan K T, Lee K T. A review on supercritical fluids (SCF) technology in sustainable biodiesel production: Potential and challenges. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2011, 15(5): 2452–2456

[10] Kim T, Oh S, Kim J, Choi I C J W, Choi J W. Study on the hydrodeoxygenative upgrading of crude bio-oil produced from woody biomass by fast pyrolysis. Energy, 2014, 68: 437–443

[11] Oh S, Hwang H, Choi H S, Choi J W. Investigation of chemical modifications of micro- and macro-molecules in bio-oil during hydrodeoxygenation with Pd/C catalyst in supercritical ethanol. Chemosphere, 2014, 117(1): 806–814

[12] Tang Z, Lu Q, Zhang Y, Zhu X, Guo Q. One step bio-oil upgrading through hydrotreatment, esterification, and cracking. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2009, 48(15): 6923–6929

[13] Duan P, Savage P E. Catalytic hydrotreatment of crude algal bio-oil in supercritical water. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2011, 104(1-2): 136–143

[14] Chen W, Luo Z, Yu C, Li G, Yang Y, Zhang H. Upgrading of bio-oil in supercritical ethanol: Catalysts screening, solvent recovery and catalyst stability study. Journal of Supercritical Fluids, 2014, 95: 387–393

[15] Zhang J, Luo Z, Dang Q, Wang J, Chen W. Upgrading of bio-oil over bifunctional catalysts in supercritical monoalcohols. Energy & Fuels, 2012, 26(5): 2990–2995

[16] Bai X, Duan P, Xu Y, Zhang A, Savage P E. Hydrothermal catalytic processing of pretreated algal oil: A catalyst screening study. Fuel, 2014, 120: 141–149

[17] Zhang C, Duan P, Xu Y, Wang B, Wang F, Zhang L. Catalytic upgrading of duckweed biocrude in subcritical water. Bioresource Technology, 2014, 166: 37–44

[18] Tang Z, Zhang Y, Guo Q. Catalytic hydrocracking of pyrolytic lignin to liquid fuel in supercritical ethanol. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2010, 49(5): 2040–2046

[19] Yao Q, Tang Z, Guo J H, Zhang Y, Guo Q X. Effect of catalyst properties on hydrocracking of pyrolytic lignin to liquid fuel in supercritical ethanol. Chinese Journal of Chemical Physics, 2015, 28(2): 209–216

[20] Duan P, Zhang C, Wang F, Fu J, Lü X, Xu Y, Shi X. Activated carbons for the hydrothermal upgrading of crude duckweed bio-oil. Catalysis Today, 2016, 274: 73–81

[21] Ahmadi S, Yuan Z, Rohani S, Xu C. Effects of nano-structured CoMo catalysts on hydrodeoxygenation of fast pyrolysis oil in supercritical ethanol. Catalysis Today, 2016, 269: 182–194

[22] Oh S, Hwang H, Choi H S, Choi J W. The effects of noble metal catalysts on the bio-oil quality during the hydrodeoxygenative upgrading process. Fuel, 2015, 153: 535–543

[23] Duan P, Savage P E. Upgrading of crude algal bio-oil in supercritical water. Bioresource Technology, 2011, 102(2): 1899–1906

[24] Xu Y, Duan P, Wang B. Catalytic upgrading of pretreated algal oil with a two-component catalyst mixture in supercritical water. Algal Research, 2015, 9: 186–193

[25] Duan P, Bai X, Xu Y, Zhang A, Wang F, Zhang L, Miao J. Catalytic upgrading of crude algal oil using platinum/gamma alumina in supercritical water. Fuel, 2013, 109: 225–233

[26] Dang Q, Luo Z, Zhang J, Wang J, Chen W, Yang Y. Experimental study on bio-oil upgrading over Pt/SO₄²⁻/ZrO₂/SBA-15 catalyst in supercritical ethanol. Fuel, 2013, 103: 683–692

[27] Li W, Pan C, Sheng L, Liu Z, Chen P, Lou H Z X, Zheng X. Upgrading of high-boiling fraction of bio-oil in supercritical methanol. Bioresource Technology, 2011, 102(19): 9223–9228

[28] Barreiro D L, Gomez B R, Ronsse F, Hornung U, Kruse A, Prins W. Heterogeneous catalytic upgrading of biocrude oil produced by hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae: State of the art and own experiments. Fuel Processing Technology, 2016, 148: 117–127

[29] Peng J, Chen P, Lou H, Zheng X. Upgrading of bio-oil over aluminum silicate in supercritical ethanol. Energy & Fuels, 2008, 22(5): 3489–3492

[30] Peng J, Chen P, Lou H, Zheng X. Catalytic upgrading of bio-oil by HZSM-5 in sub- and super-critical ethanol. Bioresource Technology, 2009, 100(13): 3415–3418

[31] Zhang Q, Xu Y, Li Y, Wang T, Zhang Q, Ma L, He M L K, Li K. Investigation on the esterification by using supercritical ethanol for bio-oil upgrading. Applied Energy, 2015, 160: 633–640

[32] Zhang X, Chen L, Kong W, Wang T, Zhang Q, Long J, Xu Y, Ma L. Upgrading of bio-oil to boiler fuel by catalytic hydrotreatment and esterification in an efficient process. Energy, 2015, 84: 83–90

[33] Duan P, Xu Y, Wang F, Wang B, Yan W. Catalytic upgrading of pretreated algal bio-oil over zeolite catalysts in supercritical water. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2016, 116: 105–112

[34] Cheng S, Wei L, Julson J, Muthukumarappan K, Kharel P R. Upgrading pyrolysis bio-oil to hydrocarbon enriched biofuel over bifunctional Fe-Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst in supercritical methanol. Fuel Processing Technology, 2017, 167: 117–126

[35] Shi W, Gao Y, Song S, Zhao Y. One-pot conversion of bio-oil to diesel- and jet-fuel-range hydrocarbons in supercritical cyclohexane. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2014, 53(28): 11557–11565

[36] Zhang X, Zhang Q, Wang T, Li B, Xu Y, Ma L. Efficient upgrading process for production of low quality fuel from bio-oil. Fuel, 2016, 179: 312–321

[37] Cheng S, Wei L, Julson J, Rabnawaz M. Upgrading pyrolysis bio-oil through hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) using non-sulfided Fe-Co/SiO₂ catalyst. Energy Conversion and Management, 2017, 150: 331–342

[38] Cheng S, Wei L, Julson J, Muthukumarappan K, Kharel P R. Upgrading pyrolysis bio-oil to biofuel over bifunctional Co-Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst in supercritical methanol. Energy Conversion and Management, 2017, 147: 19–28

[39] Prajitno H, Insyani R, Park J, Ryu C, Kim J. Non-catalytic upgrading of fast pyrolysis bio-oil in supercritical ethanol and combustion behavior of the upgraded oil. Applied Energy, 2016, 172: 12–22

[40] Yang T, Jie Y, Li B, Kai X, Yan Z, Li R. Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of crude bio-oil over an unsupported bimetallic dispersed catalyst in supercritical ethanol. Fuel Processing Technology, 2016, 148: 19–27

[41] Omar S, Alsamaq S, Yang Y, Wang J. Production of renewable fuels by blending bio-oil with alcohols and upgrading under supercritical conditions. Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering, 2019, 13(4): 702–717

[42] Li W, Pan C, Zhang Q, Liu Z, Peng J, Chen P, Lou H Z X, Zheng X. Upgrading of low-boiling fraction of bio-oil in supercritical methanol and reaction network. Bioresource Technology, 2011, 102(7): 4884–4889

[43] Jo H, Prajitno H, Zeb H, Kim J. Upgrading low-boiling-fraction fast pyrolysis bio-oil using supercritical alcohol: Understanding alcohol participation, chemical composition, and energy efficiency. Energy Conversion and Management, 2017, 148: 197–209

[44] Isa K M, Snape C E, Uguna C, Meredith W, Deng H. Pyrolysis oil upgrading in high conversions using sub- and supercritical water above 400°C. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2016, 119: 180–188

[45] Remón J, Arcelus-Arrillaga P, García L, Arauzo J. Production of gaseous and liquid bio-fuels from the upgrading of lignocellulosic bio-oil in sub- and supercritical water: Effect of operating conditions on the process. Energy Conversion and Management, 2016, 119: 14–36

[46] Remon J, Arauzo J, Garcia L, Arcelus-Arrillaga P, Millan M, Suelves I P J L, Pinilla J L. Bio-oil upgrading in supercritical water using Ni-Co catalysts supported on carbon nanofibres. Fuel Processing Technology, 2016, 154: 178–187

[47] Xu X, Zhang C, Zhai Y, Liu Y, Zhang R, Tang X. Upgrading of bio-oil using supercritical 1-butanol over a Ru/C heterogeneous catalyst: Role of the solvent. Energy & Fuels, 2014, 28(7): 4611–4621

[48] Cui H Y, Wang J H, Wei S Q, Zhuo S P, Li Z H, Wang L H, Yi W. Upgrading bio-oil by esterification under supercritical CO₂ conditions. Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology, 2010, 38(386): 673–678

[49] Ahmadi S, Reyhanitash E, Yuan Z, Rohani S, Xu C. Upgrading of fast pyrolysis oil via catalytic hydrodeoxygenation: Effects of type of solvents. Renewable Energy, 2017, 114: 376–382

Open Access

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2020 The Author(s) 2020. This article is published with open access at link.springer.com and journal.hep.com.cn