Catalytic pyrolysis of lignin for production of mono-aromatic hydrocarbons over supported hierarchical zeolite

Mono-aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) are important basic raw materials for organic chemicals industry. Catalytic pyrolysis of lignin can produce MAHs. However, the complicated components of pyrolysis vapours can result in rapid coke deactivation of the catalyst and the lower yields of mono-aromatic hydrocarbons. The lignin pyrolysis vapours were upgraded to MAHs by Ni or Ga modified hierarchical zeolite (HZSM-5@Al-SBA-15). The distribution of catalytic pyrolysis products and the coke deposition behavior of catalysts were investigated in a fixed bed reactor. Results showed that the hierarchical zeolites had the developed pore structure, which could effectively improve the mass transfer and diffusion performance of lignin pyrolysis vapours. Moreover, the introduction of metal elements and mesoporous shell modulated the acidity distribution of the catalysts. Compared with the pure HZSM-5, the relative content of MAHs (78.63%), Ga/HS (77.15%) and Ni-Ga/HS (72.44%) were increased, and the content of poly-aromatic hydrocarbons was effectively inhibited. The content of CO₂ in the gas products increased, indicating that the catalyst could promote the decarboxylation reaction. In addition, the content of coke deposition with supported hierarchical zeolite catalysts was significantly reduced, which were Ni/HS (7.79%), Ga/HS (6.37%) and Ni-Ga/HS (6.63%), respectively. This indicated that the introduction of metal components improved the anti-coke performance of the catalysts. Therefore, the supported hierarchical zeolite based on metal modification and pore optimization could upgrade the lignin pyrolysis vapours into high quality aromatic hydrocarbons. This study provides a basic reference for the high value utilization of lignin waste.