The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Chemistry Department for the seminar "Enhancing the Downstream Viability of Pyrolysis Biofuels by Upstream Upgrading Using Inexpensive Heterogeneous Catalyst," presented by Jillian L. Goldfarb, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University, on Thursday, April 21, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151.

Seminar Abstract
While promising, the thermochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-oils has yet to seriously challenge the dominance of fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Pyrolysis bio-oils are hampered by the formation of tarry aromatic compounds and oxygenated molecules that impart high acidity, viscosity, and instability, which require substantial upgrading to obtain a substitute fuel. The cost of refining and upgrading pyrolysis bio-oils hampers their widespread adoption. A significant part of this upgrading cost involves the use of rare or expensive catalysts. Over the past several years, our group has demonstrated in situ methods for pyrolysis upgrading using transition metals and clay minerals. Overall, both sets of catalysts increase dehydrogenation and deoxygenation, and improve the oxygen/carbon ratios of bio-oils.

Through a new series of experiments manipulating the physical location of transition metal catalysts, we have begun to tease out which metals work on primary devolatilization (lowering the energy barrier to pyrolysis) versus those that are more active to promote secondary cracking and devolatilized compounds in the vapor phase. We have identified new ways to replace common “cook and look” methods to identify transition metal catalysts with a materials informatics approach to metal selection. By adapting existing catalyst databases and identifying key metal properties indicative of catalytic activity, we can make predictions about metal catalyst behavior before experimental validation using a set of surrogate reactions. This talk will touch on several areas of inquiry ongoing in our laboratory to explore how we can identify and design processes for inexpensive heterogeneous catalysts for pyrolysis biofuel upgrading.