Study On The Transformation Of Biomass To Kerogen Analogs By Clay Minerals

The availability and sustainability of fossil fuels such as coal,oil and natural gas,and the negative impacts of their use on the ecological environment have forced many researchers to develop new environmentally friendly processes based on renewable raw materials.Lignocellulosic biomass,a renewable energy source that is renewable on the planet and has a large storage capacity but is not highly utilized.It is considered one of the most attractive alternatives to fossil resources for alternative fuels,fuel additives and fine chemicals.Cellulose consists solely of anhydrous glucose units,which are crystalline.Lignin is a complex,cross-linked,three-dimensional biopolymer that is a phenyl-propane unit with relatively hydrophobic and aromatic properties.Converting lignocellulose to a petroleum-like fuel is a very challenging but attractive route to biomass fuel technology.Many attempts have been made in the liquefaction,pyrolysis and gasification of lignocellulose to produce fuels or intermediate chemicals.In this experiment,the hydrothermal carbonization method was used to study the hydrothermal carbonization of microcrystalline cellulose and lignin catalyzed by layered silicate mineral montmorillonite and illite to form kerogen-like hydrate.Hydrothermal carbonization of cellulose and lignin is a complex process that is affected by temperature,time,pressure,and catalysts.The lamellar structure of montmorillonite and illite and its Lewis acid and Bronsted acid sites make it an effective catalyst-catalyzed reaction for isomerization,aromatization,polymerization condensation in hydrothermal carbonization.The chemical structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and elemental analysis.The results show that the hydrothermal carbonization of microcrystalline cellulose and lignin alone leads to the formation of hydrates with type III kerogen-like structure,while the hydrothermal carbonization of microcrystalline cellulose in the presence of clay minerals such as montmorillonite and illite resulting hydrate-mineral complex has a type II kerogen-like structure.When no clay mineral montmorillonite and illite are added,the A factor value is between 0.301 and 0.349;when the clay mineral montmorillonite and illite are added the A factor value of the solid product increases,ranging from 0.4 to 0.55.Clay mineral montmorillonite and illite are used as catalysts and adsorbents in hydrothermal carbonization in the presence of lignocellulosic.The results indicate that further improvement of montmorillonite and illite-assisted biomass into kerogen-like solid products that are more prone to oil and gas may be another effective way to obtain biofuels and chemicals.