Reaction Kinetics and Coking Behavior for Furan Deoxygenation via Catalytic Pyrolysis Using Methane

Abstract The effective deoxygenation of oxygenates remains a major challenge that needs to be overcome for industrial‐scale conversion of biomass to fuels. Present technology uses expensive gaseous hydrogen for deoxygenation. This work looks at the possibility of using methane or natural gas as an alternative for the deoxygenation process. Catalytic pyrolysis studies were carried out using furan as the model oxygenate in the presence of methane in a fixed‐bed reactor over 5 % Ni/HZSM‐5 as catalyst. The effects of temperature and space velocity on the catalyst activity, reaction kinetics, and deactivation behavior were studied. It was found that the deoxygenation of furan was first and second order with respect to furan and methane concentration, respectively. Deactivation studies suggested that catalyst deactivation takes place through poisoning, fouling, and sintering.