The Effect of Metal Loading and Alkaline Treatment on the Zeolites Toward Catalytic Pyrolysis of γ-Valerolactone

Abstract

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a glucose derivatives and its utilization as organic solvent has been developed to extract lignin from biomass. Both GVL and lignin can be used for producing aromatic chemicals (Bezene, Toluene, Xylene - BTX) via catalytic pyrolysis. We present a study focused on the catalyst modification of the zeolites to produce BTX from GVL. The catalysts were modified using wet impregnation method and alkaline treatment using NaOH solution. The addition of metal oxides were examined. Catalyst performance test were carried out in a fixed bed reactor. The feed was flowed at flowrate of 0.2 ml/min in 50 ml/min N2. The operating temperature was maintained at 500°C with catalyst-to-GVL ratio of 1:1.5. The results showed that adition of Fe-metal improves zeolites activity compared with parent zeolites. Alkaline treatment had negative impact on HZSM-5 activity because of the change of silica-alumina-ratio (SAR) and average pore diameter.