Catalytic Hydrotreatment of Biomass-Derived Fast Pyrolysis Liquids Using Ni and Cu-Based PRICAT Catalysts

Biomass-derived fast pyrolysis liquids (PLs) are not directly applicable as transportation fuels due to their high oxygen content and limited storage stability. Catalytic hydrotreatment is an efficient technology to convert such PLs to finished fuels or intermediates that can be used as a co-feed for existing oil refinery units. In this paper, we report catalyst screening studies for the mild hydrotreatment of PLs using commercially available Ni and Cu-based PRICAT catalysts at rather mild conditions (200 °C, initial 140 bar H2pressure) in a batch setup for 4 h. Among all catalysts, PRICAT NI 62/15 showed the best performance for mild catalytic hydrotreatment in terms of product properties (highest H/C ratio and lowest TG residue). The best catalysts were also tested for deep hydrotreatment at more severe conditions (350 °C, initial 100 bar H2pressure). Here, the PRICAT NI catalysts showed better performance than the benchmark Picula Ni-Mo catalyst when considering oil yield and H/C ratio. Advantageously, the hydrogen consumption during deep hydrotreatment is also reduced, rationalized by a lower methanation activity.