REAL-time high resolution mass spectrometry analysis to optimize biomass catalYTIC pyrolysis – REALYTIC

Fossil fuels, in particular oils, have an impact on our environment. The release of greenhouse gases contributes to current global warming. Carbon neutral energies must be developed. The production of electricity from nuclear, solar, hydraulic, or wind power contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but only partially meets energy demand. Some of these solutions are also the source of environmental problems and cannot wholly replace petroleum. Indeed, oil is also a source of raw material. The pyrolysis of biomass increases the potential for renewable energy and constitutes an alternative source of hydrocarbon compounds for industry. By pyrolysis, CH4 (alternative to natural gas), H2 (hydrogen sector), bio-oils, and biochars are produced. Burying the biochars will allow the sequestration of part of the atmospheric CO2 (negative global warming balance). Bio-oils contain a wide variety of mainly oxygenated organic compounds. The vitalization of the biorefinery sector requires new deoxygenation catalysts to supply, after catalytic pyrolysis and refining, fuels and added-value chemicals. To intensify the development of new catalysts, REALYTIC will develop a library of catalysts and perform high throughput catalytic pyrolysis tests of biomass. To this end, we will set a device combining pyrolysis and online analysis of pyrolysis products by mass spectrometry to rapidly screen deoxygenation catalysts and identify the most effective ones. The validation of this approach will be carried out by comparing the results obtained by online experiments with the composition of bio-oils produced by pyrolysis on a fluidized bed.