Synergy in the Cracking of a Blend of Bio-oil and Vacuum Gasoil under Fluid Catalytic Cracking Conditions

A. IBARRA; E. RODRIGUEZ; U. SEDRAN; J.M. ARANDES; JAVIER BILBAO

INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMICAL RESEARCH

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2016 vol. 55 p. 1872 - 1880

0888-5885

The catalytic cracking of a blend of raw bio-oil (20 wt%) from black poplar sawdustfast pyrolysis and vacuum gasoil (VGO, 80 wt%) has been studied. The runs have beenperformed in a riser simulator reactor (RSR) under fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) conditions; that is, 500-560 ºC, catalyst to feed mass ratio of 6 gcat (gfeed) -1 on a dry basis,reaction times of 3-10 s and a balanced commercial FCC catalyst. The co-feeding effecthas been quantified by comparing the yields of product lumps and individual components in the gaseous fraction and gasoline lump in the cracking of VGO, raw biooiland their blend (20% bio-oil/ 80% VGO), at the same conversion values (60-70 wt%). The co-feeding has a favorable synergy because it promotes the formation of C3-C4 and gasoline (C5-C12) hydrocarbon lumps, attenuating the formation of CO2, CO and also coke formation. In the cracking of the blend (80% VGO/ 20% bio-oil) at 70 wt% conversion, a deoxygenation degree of 95 wt% has been obtained, with a total liquid fuel yield of 52.8 wt% and a gasoline yield of 31.6 wt%, with a low oxygenate fraction (< 4 wt%) containing carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones and phenols.