Aromatics Production With Cobalt-Modified Ultra-Stable Y Zeolites As Catalysts In Catalytic Pyrolysis of Ginkgo Biloba Residue

Abstract

The current research studied the performance of novel and cheap catalysts, ultra-stable Y zeolites (USY) and cobalt-modified USY for the efficient production of aromatics from the ginkgo Biloba residue (GBR) using a pyrolysis reactor. Cobalt-modified USY improved the quality of the pyrolysis products e.g. removed unwanted impurities from bio-oil, increased the yield of gases, and overall boosted the GBR conversion. Under the action of USY modified with cobalt, the yield of CO, CH4, and CO2 in the gas production increased significantly, while the yield of H2 was dropped. The selectivity of naphthalene and 1-methylnaphthalene gradually decreased. The composition of aromatic hydrocarbons was reduced, while the content and selectivity ratios of toluene and xylene were increased. This study describes a high-value method using GBR, which could be used as a sustainable resource for the production of hydrocarbons, especially for the preparation of high-quality toluene and phenols.