Production of hydrogen rich bio-oil derived syngas from co-gasification of bio-oil and waste engine oil as feedstock for lower alcohols synthesis in two-stage bed reactor

High efficient production of lower alcohols (C1–C5 mixed alcohols) from hydrogen rich bio-oil derived syngas was achieved in this work. A non-catalytic partial oxidation (NPOX) gasification technology was successfully applied in the production and conditioning of bio-oil derived syngas using bio-oil (BO) and emulsifying waste engine oil (EWEO) as feedstock. The effects of water addition and feedstock composition on the gasification performances were investigated. When the BO20 and EWEO30 was mixed with mass ratio of 1: 0.33, the maximum hydrogen yield of 93.7% with carbon conversion of 96.7% was obtained, and the hydrogen rich bio-oil derived syngas was effectively produced. Furthermore, a two-stage bed reactor was applied in the downstream process of lower alcohols synthesis from hydrogen rich bio-oil derived syngas (H2/CO/CO2/CH4/N2 = 52.2/19.5/3.0/9.4/15.9, v/v). The highest carbon conversion of 42.5% and the maximum alcohol yield of 0.18 kg/kgcat h with selectivity of 53.8 wt% were obtained over the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3(2.5)//Cu25Fe22Co3K3/SiO2(2.5) catalyst combination system. The mechanism and evaluation for lower alcohols synthesis from model bio-oil derived syngas and model mixture gas were also discussed. The integrative process of hydrogen rich bio-oil derived syngas production and downstream lower alcohols synthesis, potentially providing a promising route for the conversion of organic wastes into high performance fuels and high value-added chemicals.