title: Enhancement of biomass conversion in catalytic fast pyrolysis by microwave-assisted formic acid pretreatment.
abstract: This study investigated microwave-assisted formic acid (MW-FA) pretreatment as a possible way to improve aromatic production from catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of lignocellulosic biomass. Results showed that short duration of MW-FA pretreatment (5-10min) could effectively disrupt the recalcitrant structure of beech wood and selectively remove its hemicellulose and lignin components. This increased the accessibility of cellulose component of biomass to subsequent thermal conversion in CFP. Consequently, the MW-FA pretreated beech wood produced 14.0-28.3% higher yields (26.4-29.8C%) for valuable aromatic products in CFP than the untreated control (23.2C%). In addition, the yields of undesired solid residue (char/coke) decreased from 33.1C% for the untreated control to 28.6-29.8C% for the MW-FA pretreated samples. These results demonstrate that MW-FA pretreatment can provide an effective way to improve the product distribution from CFP of lignocellulose.
authors.affiliation: Solid Waste Management Division, Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Beijing 100037, China; School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Guangyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xiangyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou 341000, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: wangyujue@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yujue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D002384:Catalysis; D029964:Fagus / Q000187:drug effects; D005561:Formates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008872:Microwaves; D013696:Temperature; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D014934:Wood / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005561:Formates; C030544:formic acid
keywords: Catalytic fast pyrolysis; Formic acid; Lignocellulose; Microwave; Pretreatment