Biochar-advanced thermocatalytic salvaging of the waste disposable mask with the production of hydrogen and mono-aromatic hydrocarbons.

The salvaging of the waste disposable mask was conducted in this study through catalytic pyrolysis over corn stover derived biochar catalyst combined with the boosted generation of hydrogen and mono-aromatic hydrocarbons for the first time. In the absence of biochar, up to 53 wt% of wax was observed at 550 ºC, whereas at the biochar/mask ratio of 2, around 41 wt% of liquid oil was produced without the formation of wax. The hydrogen content in the gas stream was about 26 vol% at 600 ºC for non-catalytic pyrolysis, which increased to around 55 vol% at the expense of light hydrocarbons such as methane and C for the catalytic process with the biochar/mask ratio of 3.

Catalytic upcycling of waste plastics over nanocellulose derived biochar catalyst for the coupling harvest of hydrogen and liquid fuels.

A powerful simple biochar catalyst derived from nanocellulose was applied to the catalytic upcycling of waste plastics into H and liquid fuels for the first time. For the results from model low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pyrolysis, the C-C aliphatics and monocyclic aromatics were dominant constitutes of the liquid product with the yields ranging from 22 to 68 wt%. At the temperature of 500 °C and biochar to LDPE ratio surpassing 3, the LDPE could be completely degraded into liquid and gas without wax production.

Biochar-driven simplification of the compositions of cellulose-pyrolysis-derived biocrude oil coupled with the promotion of hydrogen generation.

The corn stover originated biochar was developed to catalyze and simplify the compositions of biocrude oil from cellulose pyrolysis. The generation of common species such as furans and (anhydro)-sugars in the biocrude oil from cellulose pyrolysis was weakened remarkably in the presence of biochars, while the formation of phenol and alkylphenols was enhanced. The formation of hydrogen was favored when the biochar was presented.

Integrated harvest of phenolic monomers and hydrogen through catalytic pyrolysis of biomass over nanocellulose derived biochar catalyst.

The remarkable enhancement of phenolic monomer generation and hydrogen was achieved through catalytic pyrolysis of Douglas fir over nanocellulose derived biochar catalyst for the first time. The main compositions of produced bio-oil were phenolic monomers, furans, and naphthalenes, etc., in which the phenolic monomers were dominant compositions.

One-step synthesis of biomass-based sulfonated carbon catalyst by direct carbonization-sulfonation for organosolv delignification.

Biomass-based sulfonated carbon catalyst (SCC) was prepared from corncob via direct sulfuric acid carbonization-sulfonation treatment. Central composite design was used to evaluate temperature and time for optimizing SCC yield and sulfonic acid (SOH) density. The SOH groups were successfully introduced to the SCC as evidenced by FTIR and sulfur analysis.

Microwave-assisted synthesis of bifunctional magnetic solid acid for hydrolyzing cellulose to prepare nanocellulose.

The conventional studies on the preparation of nanocellulose used a high concentration of sulfuric acid that is difficult to remove and recover. A biochar-based solid acid with magnetic properties was developed to hydrolyze cellulose to prepare nanocellulose in this work. Two different methods were selected to investigate the properties of the synthesized magnetic carbon-based solid acids.

Jet fuel and hydrogen produced from waste plastics catalytic pyrolysis with activated carbon and MgO.

Catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics to produce jet fuel and hydrogen using activated carbon and MgO as catalysts was studied. The effects of catalyst to waste plastics ratio experimental temperature, catalyst placement and activated carbon to MgO ratio on the yields and distributions of pyrolysis products were studied. The placement of catalysts played an important role on the catalytic pyrolysis of LDPE, and the pyrolytic volatiles first flowing through MgO and then biomass-derived activated carbon (BAC) could obtain an excellent result to produce H and jet fuel-rich products.

Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated activated carbon as a catalyst for bio-jet fuel production from biomass and waste plastics.

Sulfonated activated carbon-based catalysts were prepared by microwaved-assisted carbonization of phosphoric acid activated corncob followed by sulfonation using concentrated sulfuric acid. Sulfonation at different temperatures and times resulted in varied SOH group density of the SAC catalysts. Sulfonation temperature showed a significant effect on the introduction of SOH on the AC precursor while time had minor role.