The fossil fuels depletion, along with the global warming concerns, shifts the scientists toward alternative carbon sources/fuels, such as biomass. Pyrolysis of biomass results in a liquid (bio-oil), which is a mixture of many oxygenate molecules (~300), with an energy density up to 10 times higher than the raw biomass, but is acidic with low heating value, not stable with time, whereas aqueous/organic fractions separation can take place. Thus, bio-oil is unsuitable for combustion in engines and its catalytic upgrading is a necessity, through hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) or steam reforming (SR) reactions. In the proposed research, different types of probe oxygenates and real bio-oil will be subjected to HDO and SR reactions. Boosting the oxygenates catalytic activation through catalyst design or process engineering (chemical looping, reaction conditions) will be explored, while the characteristics of the upgraded bio-oil as fuel will be thoroughly studied and the process will be evaluated.
