Production of various gas and liquid fuels from lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates

Reforming catalysts for use of gasification of biomass-derived compound in aqueous medium were developed by deposition of platinum on active carbon (AC) support in supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO2) media and impregnation (IMP) in aqueous media. Effects of reduction methods for platinum metal and chemical treatment for AC support were evaluated for hydrogen production activity. The metal particles deposited on AC in ScCO2 had smaller sizes than those prepared by IMP in aqueous media. It was observed that reduction of platinum precursor first by NaBH4 and then heat treatment resulted in more active catalysts compared to one single reduction method applied. Chemical treatment of catalyst support with CH3COOH, HCl, H3PO4, KOH and NH3 changed the activity of catalyst. However, untreated AC had still better activity on hydrogen production. The catalyst developed using smaller particle size of activated carbon support showed higher activity than bigger sized one. The results indicated that when gasification performed with hydrogenated biomass-derived solution, higher gas yield with better hydrogen selectivity was obtained. Application four steps of aqueous-phase dehydration, aldol condensation, hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation was produced mixture of hydrocarbon and aromatic hydrocarbon compounds. Investigation of temperature, biomass feed concentration and feed flow rate parameters on gasification performance of sorghum biomass hydrolysate using mini pilot scale of continuous aqueous-phase gasification system showed that temperature was main factor on hydrogen-rich gas production while other parameters were secondary. The liquefaction experiments showed that use of catalyst had a positive effect on oil+gas yield.