Catalytic hydroprocessing of biomass fast pyrolysis bio‐oil to produce hydrocarbon products

Catalytic hydroprocessing has been applied to biomass fast pyrolysis liquid product (bio‐oil) in a bench‐scale continuous‐flow fixed‐bed reactor system. The intent of the research was to develop process technology to convert the bio‐oil into a petroleum refinery feedstock to supplement fossil energy resources and to displace imported feedstock. The project was a cooperative research and development agreement among UOP LLC, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). This article is focused on the process experimentation and product analysis undertaken at PNNL.