Conversion of Sugar Di-Ketals to Bio-Hydrocarbons through Catalytic Cracking over Beta Catalysts in Fixed and Fluidized Catalytic Beds

Second-generation biomass (BM) can be produced in amounts that meet worldwide fuel demands. However, BM favors parallel and undesirable reactions its transformation chain. We circumvent this problem by first modifying ketalization, giving a user-friendly liquid we named BP (bio-petroleum). This study converted representative compound of BP, DX (1,2:3,5-di-O-isopropylidene-α-D-xylofuranose), mixed with n-hexane beta zeolites catalysts containing zeolite. Beta zeolite showed low coke high product yields converting mixture (having 30 wt. % DX) into hydrocarbons fixed-bed reactor at 500 °C space velocity 16 h−1 (0.3 catalyst/feed). Its performance was further improved steam treatment (lowering the yield lowering acid site density) or incorporation catalyst (improving participation due to active sites matrix). Further, changing conversion process from fixed bed fluidized cracking unit, much larger amount deactivated could used (catalyst/feed = 3), remarkably reducing oxygenates fully DX. Additionally, green hydrocarbon efficiency (olefin, aromatics, furans, cyclo-alkanes) approximately 77%. Hence, were shown have great potential provide fuels for future bio-refineries.