Catalytic pyrolysis of Eupatorium adenophorum by sodium salt

Eupatorium adenophorum (EA) has been spread widely in China and its increasing number has posed potential threats and damages to the ecosystem and environment. Therefore, it is urgent to develop an economical and efficient method to convert low-value biomass into high-value products. In this paper, pyrolysis of EA with non-catalytic and with sodium chloride (NaCl) catalyst and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) catalyst was carried out in a conventional resistance furnace. The maximum yield of bio-oil was obtained with 3 wt% NaCl and 3 wt% Na2CO3, respectively. The composition of bio-oil indicated that NaCl and Na2CO3 promoted the formation of hydrocarbon, alcohol substitution leading to a decrease in the yield of phenol and acid. For bio-gas, the addition of NaCl and Na2CO3 could reduce the elimination of CO and CH4 and promote the formation of H2 and CO2. The results indicated that NaCl and Na2CO3 had the potential to be used as a pretreatment of pyrolysis of EA to generate more resources with low cost.