Hydrotreating of Pyrolysis Oil Derived from Macroalgae for Bio-Hydrocarbon Fuels

The aim of this study was to get information on fast pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading of macroalgal biomass for bio-hydrocarbon fuel production. Macroalgal biomass was produced into bio-oil and bio-char in a pyrolysis reactor, and then the pyrolysis oil was fractionated into aqueous oil (AO), Non-aqueous oil (NAO) and residue (solid coke) using reduced pressure distillation. The AO in bio-oil distillates for catalytic hydrotreating was chosen, The fuel properties of hydrocarbon fuel (HCF) produced by hydrotreating showed that the HHV with decrease of its oxygen content was increased to 36-39 MJ/kg over supported noble metal and transition metal catalysts, approached to 45 MJ/kg of conventional gasoline and diesel. As expected, H/C ratio of HCF increased with decreasing O/C ratio. The double bonds along with proof of unsaturated compounds were saturated by catalytic hydrotreating. According to gas chromatograms, the HCF showed similar pattern of carbon numbers with gasoline.