Monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons production from catalytic cracking of pine wood-derived pyrolytic vapors over Ce-Mo2N/HZSM-5 catalyst.

A series of Mo2N/HZSM-5 and transition metal modified Mo2N/HZSM-5 catalysts were prepared for the catalytic upgrading of pine wood-derived pyrolytic vapors for the selective production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs), while restraining the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) experiments were performed to determine the effects of several factors on selective MAHs production, including Mo2N loading on HZSM-5, transition metal (Fe, Ce, La, Cu, Cr) modification of Mo2N/HZSM-5, pyrolysis temperature, and catalyst-to-biomass ratio. In addition, quantitative experiments were conducted to determine the actual yields of major aromatic hydrocarbons and the source of aromatic hydrocarbons from basic biomass components. Results indicated that among the various catalysts, the Ce-10%Mo2N/HZSM-5 exhibited the best performance on promoting the formation of MAHs and restraining the generation of PAHs. Under the optimal conditions, the actual yields of MAHs and PAHs from Ce-10%Mo2N/HZSM-5 catalytic process were 99.8mg/g and 7.5mg/g, while those from HZSM catalyst were only 77.2mg/g and 23.7mg/g respectively. Furthermore, the possible catalytic mechanism of the Ce-Mo2N/HZSM-5 catalyst was proposed based on the catalyst characterization.