Bio-aromatics synthesis via catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose with lithium-ion battery cathodes and modified HZSM-5 coupled in-situ plasma mode

This work proposed a novel method based on in-situ plasma mode to synthetize bio-aromatics from cellulose co-pyrolyzed with lithium-ion battery cathodes and tandem catalyzed by modified HZSM-5. Ni and Ti modified HZSM-5 were compared in the catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose without cathode conditions, and then cellulose was co-pyrolyzed with cathodes (LCO, LMO and LNCM). The results showed that modified-zeolites improved the upgrading of pyrolysis products, producing more refined bio-oils, and Ti-modified version was superior, while cellulose co-pyrolyzed with cathodes decreased the residual char and catalyst deposits to increase refined bio-oil. When using LNCM, the refined bio-oil yield reached 38.80%, attributing to the catalytic effect of cathodes, enhanced thermal conductivity, and micro lithium-ion battery effect. The application of cathodes and modified zeolites enhanced the conversion of furans, greatly elevating the MAHs selectivity; herein, Ni-modified version increased PAHs. After using LNCM, the selectivity of MAHs reached 77.67% (mainly C8 hydrocarbons), C10 and above hydrocarbons were suppressed, which was possibly attributed to enhanced gas-phase reactions. Abundant free radical reactions and higher cracking capability enabled coking to initially occur inside, and using LNCM decreased the catalyst coke content by approximately 80%. Co-pyrolysis with cathodes caused the surface coke to transform from filament-like to amorphous.