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DOE OSTI2025

Modular Processing of Flare Gas for Carbon Nanoproducts

This project demonstrated the technical viability and economic promise of a modular system for converting flared natural gas into valuable carbon nanoproducts (CNPs) through catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD). All major project milestones were successfully completed, including reactor design and commissioning, catalyst development, process optimization, technoeconomic analysis, and application testing in concrete systems. The overarching goal was to create a scalable, field-deployable process that valorizes stranded methane by producing high-value carbon materials for use in cementitious composites. At the lab scale, the team designed and built a fluidized bed reactor optimized for use with silica fume-supported nickel catalysts synthesized via atomic layer deposition (ALD). A statistically designed sintering study enabled precise tuning of nickel nanoparticle size, identifying the influence of oxygen partial pressure, time, and temperature on catalyst morphology and performance. These insights allowed the team to target catalyst conditions that maximize carbon nanofilament growth. Subsequent CVD experiments achieved up to 31.8 wt% carbon deposition under optimized conditions, with TEM confirming the presence of nanofilament structures and sustained hydrogen evolution during reaction. Reactor upgrades and empirical fluidization studies supported the development of reliable, repeatable experimental protocols. The modular pilot-scale skid reactor was fully constructed, instrumented, and commissioned. Capable of operating at 675–800°C and pressures up to 290 psig, the system was designed for continuous operation at a carbon production rate of 1 kg/hr. Initial demonstration runs confirmed solids handling, thermal control, and system leak-tightness, although a critical reactor component (the downfeed tube) was inadvertently omitted during final assembly. This omission limited gas–solid contact and prevented meaningful carbon deposition during pilot-scale CVD runs. Nonetheless, the system operated safely under design conditions, and the root cause of performance limitations was clearly identified. Complementary work on UHPC formulations demonstrated that small additions of carbon nanoproducts, including those derived from flare gas, can significantly enhance mechanical performance while preserving workability. A comprehensive study of CNF dispersion techniques and mix design optimization led to a clear protocol for integrating these nanomaterials into concrete. Incorporation of CNPs improved flexural toughness and reduced porosity, supporting their use in high-performance infrastructure applications. A technoeconomic analysis (TEA) confirmed that this process can produce CNP-loaded catalyst material at a levelized cost below $\$$7/kg across a range of catalyst loadings and reaction yields. With estimated market values for the carbon composite product ranging from $\$$14 to over $\$$60/kg, and the ability to blend CNPs into concrete at sub-percent levels with less than 10% added cost, the system presents a compelling economic case. While additional engineering work is needed to optimize fluidization and heat transfer at scale, this project establishes a strong foundation for commercial development. The process is not only technically sound but also economically promising, representing a viable pathway for flare gas mitigation through modular carbon nanomaterial production.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Atomically Dispersed Platinum in Surface and Subsurface Sites on MgO Have Contrasting Catalytic Properties for CO Oxidation

Atomically dispersed metals on metal oxide supports are a rapidly growing class of catalysts. Developing an understanding of where and how the metals are bonded to the supports is challenging because support surfaces are heterogeneous, and most reports lack a detailed consideration of these points. In this work, we report two atomically dispersed CO oxidation catalysts having markedly different metal–support interactions: platinum in the first layer of crystalline MgO powder and platinum in the second layer of this support. Structural models have been determined on the basis of data and computations, including those determined by extended X-ray absorption fine structure and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopies, infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO, and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The data demonstrate the transformation of surface to subsurface platinum as the temperature of sample calcination increased. Catalyst performance data demonstrate the lower activity but greater stability of the subsurface platinum than of the surface platinum.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2019

Selective Butanol Production from Ethanol over an Atomically Dispersed Cu on Mixed Oxide Catalyst

The maturation of the ethanol industry has led to more readily available pathways toward renewable fuels. However, the presence of the “blendwall” problem, as well as the shift in focus toward heavier fuels, has resulted in a need for processes that can use ethanol as a building block for more valuable fuels and chemical products. Concurrently, numerous processes are being developed for the conversion of ethanol into a wide range of value-added products. One such process, the Guerbet reaction, is a well-known chemistry for coupling alcohols that has resurfaced as a promising pathway toward producing 1-butanol and other valuable higher alcohols. Though the general chemistry for Guerbet coupling is largely agreed upon, recent research interest has been focusing on developing catalysts that can achieve both high selectivities and yield. This work focused on hydrotalcite based catalysts, which are layered double hydroxide (LDH) formed by co-precipitation of divalent and trivalent metals in solution and then calcined to form the integrated mixed oxide structure. Changing the ratio of +2/+3 metals is a facile method for tuning the acid-base nature of the catalyst, and these metals can be further substituted to form ternary or quandary structures with additional characteristics. This flexible synthesis allows for the design of catalysts that have the strong-base, weak-acid sites shown to be beneficial to ethanol C-C coupling reaction to produce butanol and higher alcohol.

Guo, Mond F.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Active Sites in a Heterogeneous Organometallic Catalyst for the Polymerization of Ethylene

Heterogeneous derivatives of catalysts developed by Ziegler and Natta are important for the industrial production of polyolefin plastics. However, the interaction between precatalysts, alkylaluminum activators, and oxide supports to form catalytically active materials is poorly understood. This is in contrast to homogeneous or well-defined heterogeneous catalysts that 20 contain resolved molecular structures that relate to activity and selectivity in polymerization reactions. This study describes the reactivity of triisobutylaluminum with high surface area aluminum oxide and a zirconocene precatalyst. Triisobutylaluminum reacts with the zirconocene precatalyst to form hydrides and passivates –OH sites on the alumina surface. The combination of passivated alumina and zirconium hydrides formed in this mixture generate ion-pairs that 25 polymerize ethylene.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2012

Biomass Gas Cleanup Using a Therminator

The objective of the project is to develop and demonstrate a novel fluidized-bed process module called a Therminator to simultaneously destroy and/or remove tar, NH3 and H2S from raw syngas produced by a fluidized-bed biomass gasifier. The raw syngas contains as much as 10 g/m3 of tar, 4,000 ppmv of NH3 and 100 ppmv of H2S. The goal of the Therminator module would be to use promising regenerable catalysts developed for removing tar, ammonia, and H2S down to low levels (around 10 ppm). Tars are cracked to a non-condensable gas and coke that would deposit on the acid catalyst. We will deposit coke, much like a fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) in a petroleum refinery. The deposited coke fouls the catalyst, much like FCC, but the coke would be burned off in the regenerator and the regenerated catalyst would be returned to the cracker. The rapid circulation between the cracker and regenerator would ensure the availability of the required amount of regenerated catalyst to accomplish our goal. Also, by removing sulfur down to less than 10 ppmv, NH3 decomposition would also be possible in the cracker at 600-700°C. In the cracker, tar decomposes and lays down coke on the acid sites of the catalyst, NH3 is decomposed using a small amount of metal (e.g., nickel or iron) catalyst incorporated into the catalyst matrix, and H2S is removed by a small amount of a metal oxide (e.g. zinc oxide or zinc titanate) by the H2S-metal oxide reaction to form metal sulfide. After a tolerable decline in activity for these reactions, the catalyst particles (and additives) are transported to the regenerator where they are exposed to air to remove the coke and to regenerate the metal sulfide back to metal oxide. Sulfate formation is avoided by running the regeneration with slightly sub-stoichiometric quantity of oxygen. Following regeneration, the catalyst is transported back to the cracker and the cycling continues. Analogous to an FCC reactor system, rapid cycling will allow the use of very active cracking catalysts that lose activity due to coking within the order of several seconds.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Preparation and characterizaton of CaO nanoparticle for biodiesel production

Nanoparticle of CaO from calcium Nitrate (CaO/CaN) and Snail shell (CaO/SS) are successfully synthesized by method as described in the literature and used as an active and stable catalyst for the biodiesel production. These catalysts are characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The average crystalline size in nanometer was also calculated by Debye–Scherrer equation. The performance of the CaO/CaN and CaO/SS were tested for their catalytic activity via transesterification process and it was found that biodiesel yield has been increased from 93 to 96%. The optimum conditions for the highest yield were 8wt% catalyst loading, 65°C temperature, 12:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, and 6 h for reaction time. The nano catalyst from snail shell exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability for the transesterification reaction, which suggested that this catalyst would be potentially used as a solid base nano catalyst for biodiesel production. In order to examine the reusability of catalyst developed from snail shell, five transesterification reaction cycles were also performed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2018

High-efficiency oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide catalysed by oxidized carbon materials

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a valuable chemical with a wide range of applications, but the current industrial synthesis of H 2 O 2 involves an energy-intensive anthraquinone process. The electrochemical synthesis of H 2 O 2 from oxygen reduction offers an alternative route for on-site applications; the efficiency of this process depends greatly on identifying cost-effective catalysts with high activity and selectivity. Here, we demonstrate a facile and general approach to catalyst development via the surface oxidation of abundant carbon materials to significantly enhance both the activity and selectivity (~90%) for H 2 O 2 production by electrochemical oxygen reduction. We find that both the activity and selectivity are positively correlated with the oxygen content of the catalysts. In conclusion, the density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the carbon atoms adjacent to several oxygen functional groups (–COOH and C–O–C) are the active sites for oxygen reduction reaction via the two-electron pathway, which are further supported by a series of control experiments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2023

2.3.4.104 - Lignin Conversion to Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blendstocks

The Lignin Conversion to Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blendstocks (LigSAF) project focuses on the conversion of lignin-rich streams to deoxygenated aromatic and cycloalkane blendstocks in the jet fuel range. This work is done in close collaboration with the BETO-funded Lignin-First Biorefinery Development project and industrial scale-up partners, and the work is closely guided by analysis to develop cost-effective and sustainable routes to produce lignin-based SAF blendstocks. To date, we have demonstrated the continuous catalytic conversion of a lignin oil from poplar to deoxygenated aromatic products at -85% C-mol yield. This hydrodeoxygenation process uses a stable, earth-abundant catalyst and requires no solvent. We have also established a baseline process model and associated techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment that together demonstrate the potential to achieve cost parity with fossil carbon-based jet fuel at -70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Current work is focused on expanding the slate of feedstocks for hydrodeoxygenation to include lignin oils from softwoods, agricultural residues, and grasses as well as from hydrolysis lignin substrates from biochemical conversion and pulp-and-paper processes. We are also undertaking catalyst development efforts to tune the reaction selectivity from aromatic compounds to cycloalkanes. Lastly, we are investigating reaction engineering strategies to slurry solids for hydrodeoxygenation reactions.

aromatics↗

DOE OSTI2021

Enabling Efficient Water Splitting with Advanced Materials Designed for High pH Membrane Interface

This project was focused on developing the durable, high-performance materials and interfaces for advanced water splitting, enabling a clear pathway for achieving <$2/Kg H2 (on scale) with efficiency of 43 kWh/kg H 2 via anion exchange membrane (AEM)-based electrolysis. We aimed to advance these final goals via an improved fundamental understanding of both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER) leading to novel platinum group metal (PGM)-free catalyst materials in conjunction with critical improvements in membrane and ionomers and gas evolution electrodes with corresponding characterization and testing. Northeastern University (NU) lead this effort focusing on catalyst development and characterization (both in situ and ex situ) while project partners lead improvements in ionomer and membrane materials and will aid in the development of specialized electrode and membrane electrode assemblies. In addition, close collaboration occured with the HydroGEN Energy Materials Network (EMN) National Laboratory consortium including efforts related to use of advanced ionomers, durability protocols and validation of electrolyzer materials (e.g. NREL), multiscale modeling and computation (e.g. LBNL), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the membrane catalyst interface (e.g. SNL). The interactions with HydroGEN included exchange of data and materials as needed to facilitate project success.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2022

Rotating Disk Electrode Standardization and Best Practices in Acidic Oxygen Evolution for Low-Temperature Electrolysis

Efforts in oxygen evolution catalyst development have significantly increased and often use rotating disk electrode half-cells to evaluate intrinsic kinetics and screen materials for short-term durability. Standardizing rotating disk electrode test protocols is critical to experimental accuracy, to realistically assess their potential impact at a device level and to assess how different catalyst approaches and concepts are prioritized. The goal of this study is to provide standardized test protocols and suggest best practices to help reduce variability in ex situ materials characterization in the broader community. Specifically, these protocols focus on test cleanliness and materials choices, including how electrodes are prepared and tested, and the impact on activity observations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Demonstration of photoreactor platform for on-sun unassisted photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation with tandem III–V photoelectrodes

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a direct solar-driven technology that converts solar energy to storable chemical energy in the form of hydrogen. In addition to semiconductor and catalyst development for improved photoelectrodes, designing reactors for testing and operation of PEC systems under inherently dynamic outdoor solar illumination is necessary to further the commercial viability of PEC technology. Herein, we present a versatile photoreactor system mounted on a solar tracker for outdoor PEC testing and demonstrate unassisted PEC water splitting under real world on-sun conditions. GaInP 2 /GaAs tandem absorber photoelectrodes with a MoS 2 catalyst were fabricated and exhibit >8% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. On-sun efficiency and stability of the photoelectrodes were characterized on both sunny and partly cloudy days with continuous monitoring of insolation and weather conditions. Furthermore, the versatile photoreactor and outdoor PEC testing capabilities and methods presented here can accelerate the development of other solar fuel generating systems and technologies.

solar fuels↗

DOE OSTI2023

Impact of Oxygen Storage Components in Prototype Pd-Based Three-Way Catalysts under Exhaust Conditions Relevant to Propane Engines

With increasing concerns about global warming, the push for sustainable and eco-friendly fuels is accelerating. Propane, recognized as liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, has garnered research interest as an alternative fuel due to its notable advantages, including a high-octane rating, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and potential cost-effectiveness. However, to realize its full potential as an alternative fuel it is essential to develop catalysts that efficiently handle emissions at low temperatures. In our research, we investigated three distinct palladium (Pd)-based three-way catalyst (TWC) formulations (PdRh, Pd-only, and Pd-OSC) to investigate the influence of typical TWC components rhodium (Rh) and oxygen storage components (OSC) in exhaust scenarios relevant to propane-fueled engines. Among these, the formulation containing oxygen storage components (Pd-OSC) showed the highest reactivity for both NO and C 3 H 8 while minimizing performance degradation from hydrothermal aging (HTA). Notably, the temperature of 50% conversion (T50) for propane in the Pd-OSC fresh and HTA sample was lower by 30 °C and 13 °C, respectively, compared to the Pd-only sample, highlighting the role of oxygen storage materials in enhancing catalyst performance, even without dithering. Additionally, N 2 physisorption showed that the PdOSC sample has a higher surface area and increased pore volume. This underscores the idea that OSC materials not only augment the catalyst’s porosity but also optimize reactant accessibility to active sites, thus elevating catalytic efficiency. In addition to evaluating performance, we further explored the performance and characteristics of the catalysts using catalytic probe reactions, such as water–gas shift and steam reforming reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

IDENTIFICATION OF ADSORBA TION OF ADSORBATE FT-IR BANDS USING IN-SI -IR BANDS USING IN-SITU TECHNIQUES: Pd SPECIATION AND ADSORPTION CHEMISTRY OF Pd-ZEOLITES FOR PASSIVE NOx ADSORPTION

To meet increasingly stringent automotive emissions standards, further improvements in catalytic converter design are necessary. Current automotive catalyst systems are effective at eliminating emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) once the catalyst reaches operational temperature (~200 °C). NOx emitted at lower catalyst temperatures now comprises most of the NOx released during a typical test cycle. Referred to as “the cold start problem” this issue has come to the forefront of automotive catalyst development, as mitigating these emissions is necessary to further reduce automotive emissions. Passive NOx adsorbers present an appealing solution to the cold start problem, these being a class of materials that chemisorb exhaust components such as NOx, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons at near-ambient temperatures, and then desorb these compounds once the downstream catalyst has reached operational temperature. An effective passive NOx adsorber must have several properties: high NOx adsorption at near-ambient temperatures, near-complete NOx desorption at temperatures within the operational range, high thermal stability, and resistance to automotive exhaust components at high temperatures. The potential environmental impact of such a system is substantial, as NOx emissions currently result in the formation of millions of tons of smog and acid rain each year. Pd-exchanged zeolites have shown promise for deployment as Passive NOx adsorbers, though much remains to be understood about their adsorption chemistry and deactivation. In-situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) provides a convenient probe of adsorbed species, most automotive exhaust components possessing IR-active chemical bonds. By examining the evolution of IR bands under various pretreatments and adsorbates, the overall Pd-speciation and adsorptive zeolite sites of each material can be characterized, and the identities of IR bands can be deduced. In this work, microreactor-MS analysis of the adsorption and desorption behavior of these materials was also examined, these results being coupled with in-situ DRIFTS temperature programmed desorption (TPD) to correlate desorption events with specific adsorbed species. A pair of zeolite frameworks of similar Si/Al ratio but differing pore size were examined, Beta zeolite (BEA) and Chabazite (CHA) representing a medium- and small-pore framework, respectively. The effect of Pd-loading on BEA was examined, as well as the various deactivation pathways and active sites of each material.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2018

Tuning the activity of Cu-containing rare earth oxide catalysts for CO oxidation reaction: Cooling while heating paradigm in microwave-assisted synthesis

Highlights: • Organic chemistry synthesis concepts have been smartly tailored to catalysts’ development. • Enhanced microwave synthesis of (Ce-La-10Cu)O{sub 2} led to an one phase system. • CO{sub 2}-philicity, and oxygen vacancies can be tuned by synthesis. • Coupling microwave with air cooling led to T{sub 50} decrease by 32% in the CO oxidation reaction. - Abstract: (Ce-La-xCu)O{sub 2} catalysts with low (3 at.%) and high (10 at.%) Cu content were prepared by conventional microwave (MW) and enhanced microwave methods where air cooling (AC), while heating, was applied. The catalysts were tested for the CO oxidation reaction in the 25–500 °C range using 4%CO/20%O{sub 2}/He feed gas. Varying spectroscopic, microscopic and catalytic studies were used to probe the effect of synthesis on the nanostructure and the CO oxidation performance. It was found that the synthesis method adopted impacts on the extent of the Cu doping into the (Ce-La)O{sub 2} fluorite lattice, hence leading to one and two phases system in the case of catalyst prepared through enhanced (AC) and conventional (MW) microwave methods, respectively. Furthermore, only Ce{sup 4+} species were found on the surface of the (Ce-La-10Cu)O{sub 2} catalysts synthesized using MW and AC (XPS studies), whereas oxygen vacant sites which are associated with Ce{sup 3+} ions were indicated in the sub-surface/bulk (Raman studies). Ultimately, the catalysts with the low and high Cu loading, prepared under the AC-promoted microwave method, presented a superior performance against CO oxidation, exhibiting an overall improvement of the catalytic activity by 16% and 32%, respectively.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2018

Recent trends on the application of PGM-free catalysts at the cathode of anion exchange membrane fuel cells

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) are becoming more and more attractive due to their alkaline environment, being less aggressive and favorable to the use of low-cost materials. Furthermore, the alkaline medium displays enhanced alcohol oxidation reaction kinetics, which favors the use of fuels different from hydrogen, ranging from alcohols to polyols, and enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. This allows the use of non-noble transition metals to synthesize cathodic catalysts, avoiding the costly platinum-group metals (PGM). In particular, the most active catalysts developed so far are mostly synthesized by sacrificial support method, which allows the fine tuning of the morphology, favoring oxygen transport, water removal, density of Fe-Nx active sites, and thus an enhanced electrochemical ORR activity. This mini-review analyzes the best AEMFCs cell performance achieved so far in recent years when PGM-free catalysts based on Me-N-C (Me = Fe, Co) are used for ORR at the cathode side, for AEMFCs fed with hydrogen, methanol, and ethanol.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic Behavior of Pt Multimetallic Alloys for Active and Stable Propane Dehydrogenation Catalysts

Improving the use of platinum in propane dehydrogenation catalysts is a crucial aspect to increasing the efficiency and sustainability of propylene production. A known and practiced strategy involves incorporating more abundant metals in supported platinum catalysts, increasing its activity and stability while decreasing the overall loading. Here, using colloidal techniques to control the size and composition of the active phase, we show that Pt/Cu alloy nanoparticles supported on alumina (Pt/Cu/Al 2 O 3 ) displayed elevated rates for propane dehydrogenation at low temperature compared to a monometallic Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalyst. We demonstrate that the enhanced catalytic activity is correlated with a higher surface Cu content and formation of a Pt-rich core and Cu-rich shell that isolates Pt sites and increases their intrinsic activity. However, rates declined on stream because of dynamic metal diffusion processes that led to a more uniform alloy structure. This transformation was only partially inhibited by adding excess hydrogen to the feed stream. Instead, cobalt was introduced to provide trimetallic Pt/Cu/Co catalysts with stabilized surface structure and stable activity and higher rates than the original Pt/Cu system. In conclusion, the structure–activity relationship insights in this work offer improved knowledge of propane dehydrogenation catalyst development featuring reduced Pt loadings and notable thermal stability for propylene production.

Alloys↗

DOE OSTI2016

Application, Deactivation, and Regeneration of Heterogeneous Catalysts in Bio-Oil Upgrading

The massive consumption of fossil fuels and associated environmental issues are leading to an increased interest in alternative resources such as biofuels. The renewable biofuels can be upgraded from bio-oils that are derived from biomass pyrolysis. Catalytic cracking and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) are two of the most promising bio-oil upgrading processes for biofuel production. Heterogeneous catalysts are essential for upgrading bio-oil into hydrocarbon biofuel. Although advances have been achieved, the deactivation and regeneration of catalysts still remains a challenge. This review focuses on the current progress and challenges of heterogeneous catalyst application, deactivation, and regeneration. The technologies of catalysts deactivation, reduction, and regeneration for improving catalyst activity and stability are discussed. Some suggestions for future research including catalyst mechanism, catalyst development, process integration, and biomass modification for the production of hydrocarbon biofuels are provided.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Reducing Coke and Increasing Bio-Oil Yield during Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass Using Phosphorus-Modified Zeolite Catalysts

Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) is a promising strategy for producing hydrocarbon transportation fuels from biomass feedstocks. However, catalyst development is needed to increase bio-oil yields and enhance process economics. In this work, we demonstrate how post synthetic modification of formed ZSM-5 with phosphorus shifts CFP selectivity from coke and light gases toward the desired bio-oil product. Microscale experiments demonstrated reduced coke production relative to unmodified ZSM-5 and identified an optimal P loading. Extensive catalyst characterization revealed that P interacted with Al sites to reduce the acid site density, with preferential binding to the strongest acid sites. Insights from the microscale experiments were leveraged to produce kilogram quantities of formed P-ZSM-5 for evaluation in a larger semi-integrated process. These experiments generated liters of bio-oil that was hydrotreated and fractionated into gasoline, diesel, and jet cuts. The phosphorus-modified ZSM-5 improved CFP bio-oil yield, resulting in an 11% relative increase in the carbon yield from biomass to aviation fuel and a 14% decrease in the minimum fuel selling price. These results highlight the impact targeted changes in catalyst acidity, achieved by adding 2.5 wt % P, can have on the carbon efficiency and feasibility of fuel production from biomass feedstocks.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗