Efficient production of furans by CO2-assisted pyrolysis of cellulose with carbon-supported Ni/Co catalysts

Production of high-grade bio-oil through catalytic pyrolysis technology was of great significance for alleviating the current energy shortage problem. This study synthesized a series of carbon-supported transition metal catalysts and their catalytic influence on the product distribution, behavior and liquid component during cellulose pyrolysis in N2 and CO2 atmosphere were analyzed. The obtained results indicated that the unique flower-like structure of carbon significantly elevated strengths to generate gaseous products and the enrichment of furan compounds during pyrolysis. The inclusion of CO2 further enhanced the secondary reaction of liquid product, and the maximum increment of syngas yield was 14.50 wt% after adding Ni/Co–C catalyst. Moreover, CO2 participated in thermal conversion process of biomass as an oxygen source and thus more sugars were converted into furans. The Ni/Co–C catalyst and CO2 produced favorable synergistic effect during cellulose pyrolysis, which resulted in the highest relative content of furans, with the value of 26.77%. Therefore, this study presented an efficient means to access to furan-rich bio-oil via catalytic pyrolysis of biomass.