Deoxygenation of Methanol over ZSM-5 in a High-Pressure Catalytic Pyroprobe

Deoxygenation is a critical step in making hydrocarbon-rich biofuels from biomass constituents. Although the thermal effects of oxygenate aromatization have been widely reported, the effect of pressure on this critical reaction has not yet been closely investigated, one primary reason being the unavailability of a reactor that can pyrolyze oxygenates, especially those in solid form, under pressurized conditions. Here, the first of a series of studies on how oxygenates behave when catalytically pyrolyzed under elevated pressure and temperature conditions is reported. Methanol, the simplest alcohol, was selected as the candidate to study the chemical phenomena that occur under pressurized catalytic pyrolysis. The reactions were carried out over the shape-selective catalyst ZSM-5 (SiO2/Al2O3 = 30) under varying pressure (0 to 2.0684 MPa (300 psi) in 0.3447 MPa (50 psi) increments) and temperature (500 to 800 degrees C in 50 degrees C increments) conditions. Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes (BTEX) were analyzed as the deoxygenated products of the reaction. The results indicate that the reactor pressure significantly affects deoxygenated product composition.