Fuels from biomass

Biofuels Production

Environmental and political problems created by our dependence on fossil fuels combined with diminishing petroleum resources are causing our society to search for new renewable sources of energy. Biomass is an exciting candidate in this respect, because it is a renewable, carbon-neutral resource, and fuels derived from biomass usually burn more cleanly than fossil fuels. It has been estimated that biomass could provide about 25% of global energy requirements. The primary routes for conversion of biomass to liquid fuels include thermochemical gasification to produce synthesis gas, liquefaction/pyrolysis of biomass to bio-oils, conversion of sugars to ethanol and aromatic hydrocarbons, and esterification of triglycerides to form bio-diesel. In particular, biomass and biomass wastes are promising sources for the sustainable production of hydrogen and liquid biofuels. However, conversion of biomass to biofuels remains a challenge, since processes such as enzymatic decomposition of sugars, steam reforming of bio-oils, and gasification suffer from low hydrogen production rates and/or complex processing requirements. Thus, development of new technologies is critical to accelerate the development of renewable hydrogen from biomass.

The goal of our research is the production of hydrogen and liquid fuels from raw materials that do not compete with food production, i.e. production of second generation biofuels. In particular, cellulose-derived products may be converted via consecutive steps in several “platform molecules” containing 4-6 carbon atoms such as ketones, secondary alcohols, acids and furanes.

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Bio-hydrogen production from biomass-derived polyols :
Production of hydrogen from biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbons via the liquid-phase reforming (APR, Aqueous Reforming Process) is an attractive process when using reactants that are unstable at relatively low temperatures. Moreover, the APR process eliminates the need to vaporize the aqueous feedstock and improves the overall thermal efficiency of the process. We study the development of novel bifunctional metal/acid catalysts for the APR process using glucose, sorbitol, and glycerol feedstock, with the aim of improving the hydrogen yields obtained on current catalytic formulations.
Production of liquid transportation fuels from biomass-derived resources:
We investigate the conversion of 2-hexanol, a sugar-derivate compound, in hydrocarbons and oxygenates with application in gasoline (C5-C12), jet fuel (C9-C16) and diesel (C12-C20). The research plan addresses the gas-phase biofuel production using bifunctional catalysts that combine metal and basic sites to efficiently promote the dehydrogenation/aldol condensation/dehydration/hydrogenation tandem process in a single reactor.
Production of light olefins:
The goal of this research line is to produce light olefins (C2-C7) from biomass-derived C2-C4 carboxylic acids. The gas-phase one-pot synthesis of light olefins from carboxylic acids involves consecutive ketonization/aldol condensation/C-C cleavage/dehydration steps that are promoted by solid catalysts containing surface acid sites of moderate Lewis acidity.
Production of additives for diesel fuels:
Levulinic acid is a biomass-derived compound particularly suitable for producing oxygenated diesel additives such as s as gamma-valerolactone, pentyl valerate and pentanol. These diesel additives may be obtained from levulinic acid via one-pot tandem processes using bifunctional metal-acid catalysts. Our research addresses the design and development of tailored bifunctional catalysts promoting the high-yield synthesis of diesel additives.

Publicaciones recientes

High performance Ni-catalysts supported on rare-earth zirconates (La and Y) for hydrogen production through ethanol steam reforming. Characterization and assay, M.F. Musso, A. Cardozo, M. Romero, R. Faccio, D.J. Segobia, C.R. Apesteguía, J. Bussi, Catal. Today, in press 2021.
Valeric biofuel production from γ-valerolactone over bifunctional catalysts with moderate noble-metal loading, K.G. Martínez Figueredo, E.M. Virgilio, D.J. Segobia, N.M Bertero, ChemPlusChem, 86(9), 1342-1346 (2021).
Influence of the preparation method on the performance of Ni-based bifunctional catalysts in the one-pot conversion of γ-valerolactone to valeric biofuel, K.G. Martínez Figueredo, D.J. Segobia, N.M. Bertero, Catal. Commun., 144,106087 (2020). .
Deactivation of Cu-Mg-Al mixed oxide catalysts for liquid transportation fuel synthesis from biomass-derived resources, P.J. Luggren, J.I. Di Cosimo, Molec. Catal., 481,110166 (2020).
Hydrogen-rich gas production by steam and oxidative steam reforming of crude glycerol over Ni-La-Me mixed oxide catalysts (Me = Ce and/or Zr), S. Veiga, M. Romero, R. Faccio, D. Segobia, H. Duarte, C. Apesteguía, J. Bussi, Catal. Today, 344, 190-198 (2020).
Highly hydrothermal stable carbon-coated Pt/SiO2 catalysts to produce hydrogen via APR of polyols, H.A. Duarte, M.E. Sad, C.R. Apesteguía, Catal. Today, 356, 399-407 (2020).
Bio-hydrogen production by APR of C2-C6 polyols on Pt/Al2O3: Dependence of H2 productivity on metal content, H. Duarte, M.E. Sad, C.R. Apesteguía, Catal. Today, 296, 59-65 (2017).
Production of bio-hydrogen by liquid processing of xylitol, H. Duarte, M.E. Sad, C.R. Apesteguía, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 42, 4051-60 (2017).
Hydrogen production by crude glycerol steam reforming over Ni-La-Ti mixed oxide catalysts, S. Veiga, R. Faccio, D. Segobia, C.R. Apesteguía, J. Bussi, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 42, 30525-30534 (2017).
Aqueous phase reforming of sorbitol on Pt/Al2O3: Effect of metal loading and reaction conditions on H2 productivity, H. Duarte, M.E. Sad, C.R. Apesteguía, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 41, 17290-17296 (2016).
Upgrading of biomass-derived 2-hexanol to liquid transportation fuels on Cu-Mg-Al mixed oxides: Effect of Cu content, P.J. Luggren, C.R. Apesteguía, J.I. Di Cosimo, Fuel, 11, 28-38 (2016).
Conversion of biomass-derived 2-hexanol to liquid transportation fuels: Study of the reaction mechanism on Cu-Mg-Al mixed oxides, P.J. Luggren, C.R. Apesteguía, J.I. Di Cosimo, Top. Catal., 59(2), 196-206 (2016).
Liquid transportation fuels from biomass-derived oxygenates: Gas-phase 2-hexanol upgrading on Cu-based mixed oxides, P.J. Luggren, C.R. Apesteguía, J.I. Di Cosimo, Appl. Catal. A: General A, 504, 256-265 (2015).
• Steam reforming of glycerol: Hydrogen production optimization, M.E. Sad, H.A. Duarte, Ch. Vignatti, C.L. Padró, C.R. Apesteguía, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 40, 6097-6106 (2015).

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