Catalytic pyrolysis of Mediterranean sea plant for bio-oil production

In the last decade the worldwide interest on renewable energies researches of bio-fuels have been intensified to meet the increasing fuel demand and secure local energy. The attention was addressed toward the employment of third generation biofuels derived from algae that are a cheaper feedstock for chemicals and biofuels production. The pyrolysis process is considered a good and economical process and also shows higher efficiency than other process for conversion of algae into bio-fuels. Moreover, bio-oils can be upgraded in-situ by catalytic cracking to reduce its high acidity and oxygen content and increase the low heating value. For this reason, Ni based and Ni-Ceria catalysts have been utilized in pyrolysis processes mainly for their low cost and to promote deoxygenation reactions. Although, many papers are present in literature on catalytic pyrolysis, the researches on effect of catalysts to the pyrolysis of sea plants are really scarce. The aim of this work was to evaluate about the feasibility of the process to produce high quality bio-oil from a Mediterranean sea plant. In particular, the effects of pyrolysis parameters such as temperature and different prepared Ni based catalysts on product yields were investigated. The amount of char, gas and oil was determined and moreover bio-oil was studied in terms of oxygen and organic compounds content. The results showed that both temperature and catalyst had significant effects on conversion into the products.