Nannan Wu
Torrefaction pretreatment and catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass
The project will combine torrefaction pretreatment and catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of biomass. Several problems will be investigated and solved when integrating torrefaction pretreatment and CFP:
(1) Investigate suitable biomass feedstocks and optimize conditions for biomass torrefaction and develop a fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical transformation of biomass during torrefaction.
(2) Identify the influence of characteristic transformations of torrefied biomass and the use of catalysts on aromatic hydrocarbons products in bio-oil.
(3) Screen suitable catalysts with the capability of regeneration, stability, minimization of coke formation, and catalyzing a wide variety of desired reactions.
(4) Build a pyrolysis kinetic model to predict the results of combination torrefaction and CFP for biomass.