Liquid discharge plasma for fast biomass liquefaction at mild conditions: The effects of homogeneous catalysts

doi:10.1007/s11705-019-1896-y

Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (5) : 763-771 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-019-1896-y

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Liquid discharge plasma for fast biomass liquefaction at mild conditions: The effects of homogeneous catalysts

Sen Wang¹, Shiyun Liu¹, Danhua Mei¹, Rusen Zhou³, Congcong Jiang², Xianhui Zhang², Zhi Fang¹(

), Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov³

¹. College of Electrical Engineering and Control Science, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
². Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Institute of Electromagnetics and Acoustics, Department of Electronic Science, College of Electronic Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
³. School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4000, Australia

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Abstract

Non-thermal plasma exhibits unique advantages in biomass conversion for the sustainable production of higher-value energy carriers. Different homogeneous catalysts are usually required for plasma-enabled biomass liquefaction to achieve time-and energy-efficient conversions. However, the effects of such catalysts on the plasma-assisted liquefaction process and of the plasma on those catalysts have not been thoroughly studied. In this study, an electrical discharge plasma is employed to promote the direct liquefaction of sawdust in a mixture of polyethylene glycol 200 and glycerol. Three commonly used chemicals, sulfuric acid, nitric acid and sodium p-toluene sulfate, were selected as catalysts. The effects of the type of catalyst and concentration on the liquefaction yield were examined; further, the roles of the catalysts in the plasma liquefaction process have been discussed. The results showed that the liquefaction yield attains a value of 90% within 5 min when 1% sulfuric acid was employed as the catalyst. Compared with the other catalysts, sulfuric acid presents the highest efficiency for the liquefaction of sawdust. It was observed that hydrogen ions from the catalyst were primarily responsible for the significant thermal effects on the liquefaction system and the generation of large quantities of active species; these effects directly contributed to a higher efficacy of the plasma-enabled liquefaction process.

Keywords discharge plasma biomass liquefaction catalyst homogeneous catalysts

Corresponding Author(s): Zhi Fang

Just Accepted Date: 20 December 2019 Online First Date: 24 February 2020 Issue Date: 25 May 2020

Cite this article:

Sen Wang,Shiyun Liu,Danhua Mei, et al. Liquid discharge plasma for fast biomass liquefaction at mild conditions: The effects of homogeneous catalysts[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2020, 14(5): 763-771.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-019-1896-y
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2020/V14/I5/763

Tab.1 Chemical composition and properties of sawdust raw material

Fig.1 (a) Schematic of the experimental setup of biomass liquefaction by electrical discharge plasma; (b) Waveforms of applied voltage and discharge current.

Fig.2 The influence of reaction time on the plasma liquefaction process in terms of liquefaction yield and liquid temperature (sawdust: 5 g, input voltage: 800 V, 1% H₂SO₄).

Fig.3 (a) Effect of catalyst charge on the liquefaction yield, and (b) temperature of solution (raw material: 5 g; the mass ratio of solvent /sawdust: 7/1; PEG 200/glycerol molar ratio: 1.38/1, reaction time: 3 min).

Fig.4 Effect of type of catalyst on (a) the plasma liquefaction yield and (b) the temperature of solution (raw material: 5 g; mass ratio of solvent /sawdust: 7/1; PEG 200/glycerol molar ratio: 1.38/1, reaction time: 3 min).

Fig.5 GC-MS of liquid products with different concentrations of sulfuric acid.

Tab.2 Summary of liquid products obtained from sawdust liquefaction

Fig.6 FTIR spectra of raw material, solid residue and liquid product.

Fig.7 Possible reaction pathways of cellulose in biomass during liquefaction by discharge plasma.

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