Efficient production of furans by CO2-assisted pyrolysis of cellulose with carbon-supported Ni/Co catalysts.

Production of high-grade bio-oil through catalytic pyrolysis technology was of great significance for alleviating the current energy shortage problem. This study synthesized a series of carbon-supported transition metal catalysts and their catalytic influence on the product distribution, behavior and liquid component during cellulose pyrolysis in N 2 and CO 2 atmosphere were analyzed. The obtained results indicated that the unique flower-like structure of carbon significantly elevated strengths to generate gaseous products and the enrichment of furan compounds during pyrolysis. The inclusion of CO 2 further enhanced the secondary reaction of liquid product, and the maximum increment of syngas yield was 14.50 wt% after adding Ni/Co–C catalyst. Moreover, CO 2 participated in thermal conversion process of biomass as an oxygen source and thus more sugars were converted into furans. The Ni/Co–C catalyst and CO 2 produced favorable synergistic effect during cellulose pyrolysis, which resulted in the highest relative content of furans, with the value of 26.77%. Therefore, this study presented an efficient means to access to furan-rich bio-oil via catalytic pyrolysis of biomass. • The flower-like carbon-based catalysts that improve yield of furans are synthesized. • A 15.31% increase in furans is obtained by adding Ni/Co loaded carbon catalyst in CO 2. • The prepared catalysts promote the secondary reaction for generation of syngas. • The mechanism of flower-like carbon catalyst for component variation is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]