Renewable aromatic hydrocarbons from flash catalytic pyrolysis of Monoraphidium sp. lipid extract

Lipid fraction from Monoraphidium sp. to obtain aromatic compounds by catalytic flash pyrolysis using HZSM-5 was studied in this work. Oil extraction has been performed by Schmid-Bondzynski-Ratzlaff, flash pyrolysis was carried out at 500 °C in an analytical micropyrolyzer and the pyrolysis vapors were transported to a fixed catalytic bed heated to 300 °C. According to the results, in the pyrolysis of the lipid extract, most of the renewable aliphatic hydrocarbons obtained were from the range of fuels such as gasoline and kerosene. A formation of about 11% of aromatic compounds was also obtained by non-catalytic pyrolysis due to the large amount of unsaturated fatty acids present in this lipid fraction (60.13%). The HZSM-5 presented high deoxygenation activity, producing 73% of monoaromatics and 12% of hydrocarbons in C4–C11 range. The products identified are useful in different segments of the chemical industry, and can also be used as aromatics additives in advanced fuels. [Display omitted] •Renewable aromatics through flash pyrolysis of Monoraphidium sp. lipidic extract•Lipidic extract as C5–C15 HCs precursors through flash pyrolysis of Monoraphidium•Precursors of additives for advanced biofuels such as aviation biokerosene•Bio-oil rich in aromatic compounds through lipid catalytic pyrolysis using HZSM-5