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Author Spotlight: Optimized Transformation Protocol for Chlorella vulgaris Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Published on: October 27, 2023
The transformation of nitrogen during pressurized entrained-flow pyrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris
Kristina Maliutina1, Arash Tahmasebi1, Jianglong Yu2
1Key Laboratory of Advanced Coal and Coking Technology of Liaoning Province, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114051, China.
Abstract:
The transformation of nitrogen in microalgae during entrained-flow pyrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris was systematically investigated at the temperatures of 600-900 °C and pressures of 0.1-4.0 MPa. It was found that pressure had a profound impact on the transformation of nitrogen during pyrolysis. The nitrogen retention in bio-char and its content in bio-oil reached a maximum value at 1.0 MPa. The highest conversion of nitrogen (50.25 wt%) into bio-oil was achieved at 1.0 MPa and 800 °C, which was about 7 wt% higher than that at atmospheric pressure. Higher pressures promoted the formation of pyrrolic-N (N-5) and quaternary-N (N-Q) compounds in bio-oil at the expense of nitrile-N and pyridinic-N (N-6) compounds. The X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results on bio-chars clearly evidenced the transformation of N-5 structures into N-6 and N-Q structures at elevated pressures. The nitrogen transformation pathways during pyrolysis of microalgae were proposed and discussed.
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