Catalytic cracking of pyrolytic oil by using bentonite clay for green liquid hydrocarbon fuels production

The pyrolysis of almond shell as a biomass feedstock was performed in order to obtain a bio-based feedstock for bio-refineries in a fixed-bed reactor under inert atmosphere (occurred by N-2 gas) at certain experimental conditions including 500 degrees C of temperature and a heating rate of 10 degrees C min(-1). Then, the catalytic cracking of obtained pyrolytic liquid was conducted by using bentonite clay as a low-cost catalyst material at the conditions of 400 degrees C of temperature, a heating rate of 10 degrees C min(-1) and catalyst ratio of 30 wt%. The upgraded bio-oil revealed the properties of a basic fuel including 4.01 cSt of viscosity at the temperature of 40 degrees C; approximately 45.22% lower than that of non-upgraded bio-oil, low density of 1100.78 kg m(-3) at 15.6 degrees C, H/C molar ratio of 1.413 and calorific value (HHV) of 26.92 MJ kg(-1). The results of the chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of the obtained bio-oils have revealed that the presence of bentonite clay led to a considerable increase in some organic compound groups such as phenolic, ketones, and oxygenated aromatics.