Verification of production of stabilized pyrolysis oil at Cortus

Important results from the project

The project goal was to verify production of a stabilized, biobased pyrolysis oil by catalytic hydrotreatment of pyrolysis vapours at Cortus’ plant in Höganäs. The results from the tests show that the catalytic hydrotreatment provided a more stable oil product, with lower oxygen and carbonylic content than the reference oil from slow, thermal pyrolysis. This indicates that the product has a potential for usage as a raw material for more high-valuable products, such as biofuels and chemicals, which could contribute to a more biobased economy.

Expected long term effects

The project results show that the catalytic treatment has a positive effect on the composition of the pyrolysis oil with reagards to stability. This is a key parameter for handling, intermediate storage and further upgrading of the pyrolysis oil. The results are therefore a good base for further development and tests of the concept, where focus could shift towards optimization of process parameters and evalutation of scaling-up.

Approach and implementation

The focus of this project was the experimental tests performed at Cortus site in Höganäs, but a prerequisite for a successful implementation of the project has been the co-operation between the project partners in preparations before the tests, design, construction and installation of the test set-up, and the following analyses.