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Sixth Meeting of the |
Cheesecake Factory |
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Catalytic Production of Fuels
and Chemicals from Biomass-derived Oxygenated Hydrocarbons ABSTRACT Environmental and political issues created by our dependence on fossil fuels, such as global warming and national security, combined with diminishing petroleum resources are causing our society to search for new renewable sources of energy and chemicals, and an important sustainable source of organic fuels, chemicals and materials is plant biomass. We present results for aqueous-phase and vapor-phase reforming of oxygenated hydrocarbons, such as glycerol, allowing us to compare and contrast the reaction pathways for reforming and water-gas shift reactions in aqueous solutions versus in the gas phase. Moreover, we show how gas mixtures of H2 and CO can be produced at high rates and selectivities from glycerol over platinum-based bi-metallic catalysts at temperatures (e.g., 500-620 K) that are significantly lower compared to conventional gasification of biomass, allowing this gasification step to be coupled effectively with hydrocarbon production by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. We then show how hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) can be formed in high yields by dehydration of carbohydrates in a biphasic reactor, and we illustrate how HMF can subsequently be used to produce liquid transportation fuels, such as dimethylfuran and alkanes ranging from C8 to C15. |
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