Silicon carbide foam supported ZSM-5 composite catalyst for microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass

Considering a series of issues facing the application of catalysts in large scale catalytic fast pyrolysis systems, a novel composite catalyst of ZSM-5 coatings on SiC foam supports was developed and tested for ex-situ catalytic upgrading of the pyrolytic vapors. Different configurations of catalysts placement were compared and the results showed the composite catalyst could significantly improve the bio-oil quality without significantly reducing the yield. The effect of catalyst to biomass ratio on the product yields and bio-oil composition was studied and the results showed that increasing catalyst to biomass ratio could improve the quality of bio-oil at the cost of its yield. In addition, the composite catalyst can maintain its activity until a catalyst to biomass ratio of 1/10, outperforming ZSM-5 in other configurations reported in literature. Furthermore, the composite catalysts could be regenerated and reused while well preserving its material properties and catalytic activity after seven reaction-regeneration cycles.