Studies on the synergistic effect between corn straw and Canadian oil sands bitumen during the co-pyrolysis process

Abstract

To investigate the potential synergistic effect, the co-pyrolysis of corn straw (CS) and Canadian oil sands bitumen (CA-OB) was carried out in this work. Thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric curves of CA-OB, CS and their blends were recorded using a thermogravimetric analyser. The main co-pyrolysis regions of the CS/CA-OB blends partially overlapped with the individual pyrolysis curves of CS and CA-OB, and the apparent weight loss was detected between 250 °C and 500 °C. The comparison of the experimental curves with the calculated data indicated that the synergistic effect was present in the main reaction region of co-pyrolysis and was enhanced with increasing CS content. The effects of the interactions between CA-OB and CS on the distributions and yields of the pyrolyzed products were studied in a high-pressure autoclave. It can be concluded that the co-pyrolysis process promoted an increase in the coke yield, while the oil and gas yields decreased. The proportion of aromatics in the pyrolyzed oil products increased as the increasing CS content suppressed the decomposition and dehydrogenation–condensation reactions. In addition, the gasification activity of co-pyrolysis cokes was enhanced.