Catalytic fast pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse using activated carbon catalyst in a hydrogen atmosphere to selectively produce 4-ethyl phenol

Activated carbon (AC) prepared by physical activation with steam (named as AC-H 2 O) was employed for catalytic fast pyrolysis of bagasse in a hydrogen atmosphere to selectively produce 4-ethyl phenol (4-EP), a valuable phenolic compound. Lab-scale fast pyrolysis experiments were conducted to quantitatively determine the pyrolytic products and investigate several factors on the 4-EP production, including pyrolysis atmosphere, AC type, catalytic pyrolysis temperature, and AC-to-bagasse ratio. The results indicated that the AC-H 2 O (activated by H 2 O) catalyst exhibited much better performance on 4-EP production than other ACs prepared by different activation methods. Compared with the inert atmosphere, the presence of hydrogen atmosphere could significantly promote the 4-EP formation with the yield increase by over 36%. The maximal 4-EP yield of 3.55 wt% with the selectivity of 17.42% was obtained under AC-to-bagasse ratio of 1.5 at 330 °C. In addition, the gas product produced by the pyrolysis process could be recycled to provide a hydrogen atmosphere without an additional hydrogen supply.