(495d) Renewable Materials from Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis

Polymers and advanced carbon can be prepared from the bio-oil produced from catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP), and this approach offers sustainable and cost-effective pathways to drop-in, functional replacement and performance advantaged materials. Furthermore, diverting some of the materials from biofuels production in an integrated biorefinery could help improve the overall economics. We will discuss research being conducted to separate oxygenated chemical products from the oil and aqueous streams from CFP as part of an integrated biorefinery, where a majority of the carbon is being directed towards hydrocarbon biofuels production and smaller streams are diverted to high value co-products. Removing oxygenated molecules from the oil has the added benefit of reducing the demand for hydrotreating to produce hydrocarbons, and reducing the carbon in aqueous streams decreases the cost for waste water treatment. We are also investigating a strategy whereby the heavy residues that remain after distillation of bio-oil are converted into high value advanced graphite that can be used electrical storage devices such as lithium ion batteries (LiBs). These heavy residues are often very difficult to hydrotreat and diverting them to graphite production could dramatically improve the biorefinery economics. The presentation will discuss recent advances in polymers and carbon production and their potential impact on biofuels cost.