Energy Upgrading of Bio-oil Model Compound via Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation

摘要

Considering impending petroleum shortages, the environmental costs of using fossil-based fuels, the limitations of the hydrogen-based approach for transport, and the irreplaceable nature and ever growing demand for hydrocarbons, there is a need to shift hydrocarbon production in the US, and ultimately worldwide, to a renewable source: Biomass.1 Compared to production of starch-based ethanol and biodiesel, large-scale pyrolysis-based conversion of biomass into liquid fuels is still considered to be an emerging field. Flash pyrolysis (rapid heating in the absence of oxygen) breaks down the plant material (cellulose and other tissue components) into small-molecule species in three states: flammable gases, bio-liquids, and solid char.