Search Results (2)

Pyrolysis oil derived from waste tires consists of sulfur content in the range of 7000 to 9000 ppm. For use in diesel engines, its sulfur content must be lowered to 10 to 15 ppm. Though conventional hydrodesulfurization is suitable for the removal of sulfur from tire pyrolysis oil, its high cost provides an avenue for alternative desulfurization technologies to be explored. In this study, oxidative desulfurization (ODS), a low-cost technology, was explored for the desulfurization of tire pyrolysis oil. Two categories of titanium-incorporated mesoporous supports with 20 wt% loaded heteropoly molybdic acid catalyst (HPMo/Ti-Al₂O₃ and HPMo/Ti-TUD-1) were developed and tested for ODS of tire pyrolysis oil at mild process conditions. Catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET-N₂ physisorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The incorporation of Ti into Al₂O₃ and TUD-1 frameworks was confirmed by XPS. The surface acidity of catalysts was studied by the temperature-programmed desorption of NH₃ and pyridine FTIR analyses. HPMo/Ti-Al₂O₃ and HPMo/Ti-TUD-1 catalysts contained both Lewis and Brønsted acid sites. The presence of titanium in catalysts was found to promote the ODS activity of phosphomolybdic acid. The Ti-TUD-1-supported catalysts performed better than the Ti-Al₂O₃-supported catalysts for the ODS of tire pyrolysis oil. Hydrogen peroxide and cumene peroxide were found to be better oxidants than tert-butyl hydroperoxide for oxidizing sulfur compounds of tire pyrolysis oil. Process parameter optimization by the design of experiments was conducted with an optimal catalyst along with the catalyst regeneration study. An ANOVA statistical analysis demonstrated that the oxidant/sulfur and catalyst/oil ratios were more significant than the reaction temperature for the ODS of tire pyrolysis oil. It followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics over HPMo/Ti-TUD-1. Full article

There is an increasing interest in forest biomass for energy throughout Europe, which is seen as a way of promoting forest mobilization and economic development locally, in particular in regions where forest biomass is available but its use is limited by lack of demand. This study was conducted to define, evaluate and select viable forest industry scenarios to increasing forest mobilisation in the North of Portugal using AppTitude^®, a Forest Management Decision Support Systems (FMDSS) considering spatially explicitly supply (biomass growth and yield), demand (industry), and supply–demand interactions (markets). The protocol followed combined a set of indicators of sustainable forest management to guide the selection of the best industry solutions in terms of location, dimension, forest biomass and other variables defined as objectives. The simulations allowed the selection of a small set of industry scenarios compatible with an existing plant outside the study area, increasing wood mobilization, preventing overexploitation and competition among industries but increasing value and price of forest biomass. The results of the application of this FMDSS showed that introducing new biomass plants in the region will increase sustainable forest mobilization and related local development. AppTitude^® revealed to be a powerful and reliable tool to assist forest planning. Full article