Production of Low-carbon Light Olefins from Catalytic Cracking of Crude Bio-oil

Low-carbon light olefins are the basic feedstocks for the petrochemical industry. Catalytic cracking of crude bio-oil and its model compounds (including methanol, ethanol, acetic acid, acetone, and phenol) to light olefins were performed by using the La/HZSM-5 catalyst. The highest olefins yield from crude bio-oil reached 0.19 kg/(kg crude bio-oil). The reaction conditions including temperature, weight hourly space velocity, and addition of La into the HZSM-5 zeolite can be used to control both olefins yield and selectivity. Moderate adjusting the acidity with a suitable ratio between the strong acid and weak acid sites through adding La to the zeolite effectively enhanced the olefins selectivity and improved the catalyst stability. The production of light olefins from crude bio-oil is closely associated with the chemical composition and hydrogen to carbon effective ratios of feedstock. The comparison between the catalytic cracking and pyrolysis of bio-oil was studied. The mechanism of the bio-oil conversion to light olefins was also discussed.