Over the last couple of years there has been a growing interest in transitioning from traditional fuels to more renewable sources such as biofuels. However, biocrude straight from the reactor is not usable as a fuel source and needs to be upgraded through exposure to a catalyst. The reactants and products are known for this process, but the intermediates are not. Lowering the severity of conditions specifically temperature can allow for these intermediates to be identified through the use of GC-MS and other analytical techniques. 2 grams of biocrude made from hospital food waste was treated with 1 gram of a commercial catalyst (CoMo/Al2O3) for an hour at varying temperatures (350˚C, 325˚C, 300˚C) to observe the intermediates produced when lowering the severity of operating temperatures. At lower operating temperatures, a greater presence of acids, alcohols, and esters was observed.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Goyette, Abigail
• Presutti, Samuel
• Schardong, Bruno

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042722-192121
• 64661

Advisor

• Timko, Michael T.

Year

• 2022

Date created

• 2022-04-27

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Chemical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright