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Catalytic cracking is one of the most promising processes for thermochemical conversion of biomass to advanced biofuels in recent years. However, current effectiveness of catalysts and conversion efficiency still remain challenges. An investigation of directly catalytic upgrading bio-oil vapors produced in prairie cordgrass (PCG) pyrolysis over Ni/HZSM-5 and HZSM-5 in a two stage packed-bed reactor was carried out. The Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst was synthesized using an impregnation method. Fresh and used catalysts were characterized by BET and XRD. The effects of catalysts on pyrolysis products yields and quality were examined. Both catalysts improved bio-oil product distribution compared to non-catalytic treatment. When PCG pyrolysis vapor was treated with absence of catalyst, the produced bio-oils contained higher alcohols (10.97%) and furans (10.14%). In contrast, the bio-oils contained the second highest hydrocarbons (34.97%）and the highest phenols (46.97%) when PCG pyrolysis vapor was treated with Ni/HZSM-5. Bio-oils containing less ketones and aldehydes were produced by both Ni/HZSM-5 and HZSM-5, but no ketones were found in Ni/HZSM-5 treatment compared to HZSM-5 (2.94%). The pyrolysis gas compositions were also affected by the presenting of HZSM-5 or Ni/HZSM-5 during the catalytic upgrading process. However, higher heating values and elemental compositions (C, H and N) of bio-chars produced in all treatments had no significant difference.

As a result of concerning petroleum price increasing and environmental impact, more attention is attracted to renewable resources for transportation fuels. Because not conflict with human and animal food resources, non-food vegetable oils are promising sources for developing bio-jet fuels. Extracting vegetable oil from oilseeds is the first critical step in the pathway of bio-jet fuel production. When sunflower seeds are de-hulled, there are always about 5%–15% broken seed kernels (fine meat particles) left over as residual wastes with oil content up to 48%. However, the oil extracted from these sunflower seed residues is non-edible due to its quality not meeting food standards. Genetically modified sunflower grown on margin lands has been identified one of sustainable biofuel sources since it doesn't compete to arable land uses. Sunflower oils extraction from non-food sunflower seeds, sunflower meats, and fine sunflower meats (seed de-hulling residue) was carried out using a cold press method in this study. Characterization of the sunflower oils produced was performed. The effect of cold press rotary frequency on oil recovery and quality was discussed. The results show that higher oil recovery was obtained at lower rotary frequencies. The highest oil recovery for sunflower seeds, sunflower meats, and fine sunflower meats in the tests were 75.67%, 89.74% and 83.19% respectively. The cold press operating conditions had minor influence on the sunflower oil quality. Sunflower meat oils produced at 15 Hz were preliminarily upgraded and distilled. The properties of the upgraded sunflower oils were improved. Though further study is needed for the improvement of processing cost and oil recovery, cold press has shown promising to extract oil from non-food sunflower seeds for future bio-jet fuel production.