The decarbonization of energy systems requires both clean fuel alternatives and sustainable materials for energy storage. This study explores catalytic graphitization of engineered pyrolysis bio-oil, a renewable, carbon-rich by-product of biomass conversion, to produce graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes and renewable hydrogen. Four engineered bio-oils derived from sawdust pyrolysis at 550 °C were evaluated at 1300 °C using reduced iron powder as a catalyst. Among these, heavy-phase filtered bio-oil (HFB) demonstrated superior graphitization efficiency, achieving a graphitization degree of 94.51% and generating a significant hydrogen yield of 5.25 g H<inf>2</inf>/100 g bio-oil. Compared to conventional synthetic graphite production, which relies on fossil coke and extreme temperatures (>2500 °C), this method significantly reduces energy demand and CO<inf>2</inf> emissions. A liquid–solid catalytic mechanism is proposed for the first time, enabling efficient carbon transformation and hydrogen release without the need for steam input. This work contributes to advancing circular bioeconomy strategies and highlights the role of biomass valorization in future sustainable energy systems.

Hard carbon (HC) is currently the predominant anode material for sodium-ion batteries; however, its practical application is still limited by insufficient initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and plateau capacity. Meanwhile, conventional HC production relies on energy-intensive carbonization processes with considerable carbon emissions. Here, an induction heating carbonization strategy is developed for extruded biocarbon columns derived from biomass-based biochar and bio-oil, enabling simultaneous enhancement of electrochemical performance and production sustainability. Bio-oil combined with high-pressure extrusion suppresses open pores, whereas induction heating generates localized eddy currents and concentrated Joule heating that accelerate carbon rearrangement and promote closed pore formation. As a result, the closed-to-open pore volume ratio increases from 0.32 to 85.18, leading to improved ICE (95.0% vs. 84.4%) and plateau capacity ratio (77.6% vs. 64.7%) relative to conventional carbonized HC. Life-cycle assessment further indicates an approximately 35% reduction in global warming potential. Overall, this work presents an energy-efficient, low-emission route for producing high-performance HC anodes.

The significant carbon dioxide emission and high-energy consumption from traditional pyrometallurgical metal alloy production can be eliminated by using hydrogen as a reductant and processing materials in the solid state. In this study, an iron–nickel alloy was synthesised by solid-state hydrogen reduction of 250 g of a 50 wt% Fe2O3-NiO powder mixture. The alloy was produced in a horizontal Fe-Cr-Al tube furnace in multiple steps. The metal oxide mixture was exposed to a reducing atmosphere from room temperature, ramped up to 700 °C over 30 min, and held at 700 °C for 3 h. X-ray diffractometry of the reduced product confirmed the absence of oxides and the presence of body-centred cubic and face-centred cubic phases. A trace amount of oxygen was identified by melt-extraction analysis. The oxygen content results encourage pilot-scale iron–nickel production and the broader application of this process for large-scale metal alloy production from metallurgical by-products.

A continuous pyrolysis combined with an in-line biochar-catalytic reforming of the pyrolysis vapor was investigated in a comprehensive system consisting of an auger reactor and a downstream fixed-bed reactor. The effect of the weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), particle size and morphology of biochar, and the pressure drop of the biochar bed on the catalytic performance were discussed in this study. Results showed that lower WHSV, which allows longer residence time, led to higher syngas yield and increased H2+CO proportion. The use of the smallest biochar particles (0.6-1 mm) produced the highest syngas and H2 yields, correlating with the greatest pressure drops. Spherical and rounded biochar particle shape enhanced syngas and H2 yields, as well as H2+CO proportions, due to improved heat and mass transfer. A maximum of 12 mmol H2/g-biomass was achieved, with a dry gas yield of 0.68 Nm3/kg, comprising 39 vol % H2 and 27 vol % CO, at the use of pelletized biochar with a WHSV of 0.51. The used biochar demonstrated stable catalytic performance as a reforming catalyst in a 100-min test period.

Effective bromine mitigation is a critical challenge in the sustainable recycling of electronic waste, where uncontrolled release of brominated species compromises both environmental safety and product quality. This study unveils a novel synergistic transformation pathway of bromine (Br) during ex-situ dual-catalyst pyrolysis of waste electronic circuit boards (WECBs). Experiments were conducted in a continuous auger reactor integrated with a fixed-bed catalytic unit employing a dual HZSM-5/CaO catalyst system. By tuning the weight hour space velocity WHSV from 0.6 to 1.0 h⁻¹, the catalytic process not only doubled the gas yield from 2.7 to 6.5 wt.% but also selectively suppressed liquid formation from 18.0 to12.5 wt.%, while driving deeper deoxygenation and aromatic hydrocarbon enrichment. At lower WHSV, intensified secondary reactions promoted light aromatic generation but also accelerated coke deposition, highlighting the need for WHSV optimization. Mechanistic insights reveal that brominated phenols and aromatic hydrocarbons dominate the primary volatile fraction, where Br⁺ radicals undergo dual pathways: recombination with H⁺ and small fragments forming HBr/CH₃Br, or neutralization by CaO to yield stable CaBr₂. Importantly, 44 wt.% of total bromine was retained in the solid residue as CaBr₂, drastically lowering bromine content in pyrolysis oils. The dual-catalyst strategy thus enables simultaneous Br-fixation, hydrocarbon upgrading, and catalyst regeneration, drastically reducing bromine in pyrolysis oils. These findings advance a scalable,3 mechanistically guided route for cleaner electronic waste valorization, coupling environmental protection with high-value fuel production.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to their potential for efficient and sustainable energy storage. Thus, the demand for high-performance battery materials with a sustainable supply chain, particularly hard carbon (HC) as the primary anode material for SIBs, is rapidly increasing. This study focuses on enhancing the production and electrochemical performance of HC products by leveraging Sweden's abundant forestry resources and advanced biomass refining processes. Specifically, we propose a novel HC production process that compresses sawdust-derived biocarbon with bio-oil derived from the same pyrolysis process to produce HC with improved properties, where the bio-oil serves as both a binder and a surface engineering agent for the biocarbon. This approach effectively modifies surface defects, leading to increased initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), reaching values of 90 % in half-cell tests. Moreover, laboratory measurements and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results quantified that this production method achieves nearly 50 % higher HC yields and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20 % compared to the conventional production method. As a result, this offers a potentially more sustainable and economically viable solution for advancing the SIB anode material production.

Biomass is a key renewable feedstock for producing green fuels; however, renewable feedstock presents a high risk for catalyst deactivation and poor stability. In addition, the heat source of industrial reforming processes comes from fuel combustion and most heat is lost in the flue gas. In this study, a Ni/Al2O3/FeCrAl-based monolithic catalyst with a periodic open cellular structure (POCS) was designed and 3D-printed. A reforming process was then conducted by directly heating the catalyst using electricity instead of fuel combustion. This e-reformer technology was demonstrated in continuous catalytic steam reforming of biomass pyrolysis volatiles. A high H2 yield of ≈7.1 wt % of biomass has been obtained at a steam-to-biomass (S/B) ratio of 4.5, reforming temperature of 800 °C and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 310 h−1, resulting in an energy consumption of 8 kWhel kg−1 biomass (66% energy efficiency). The results show a successful demonstration of the electrified technology with improvement potential; in addition, a process was designed and assessed economically for synthetic natural gas (SNG) production of 80 MWHHV, comparing electrification and partial oxidation in different scenarios.

Pyrolysis of biomass plus catalytic reforming of its pyrolysis volatiles is a green alternative to produce solid (biochar) and gaseous (syngas) fuels that have several valuable applications; however, this catalytic process suffers from fast deactivation, and its energy consumption is yet to be studied, factors that determine the process's feasibility in industrialisation. To address these issues, the direct electrification of a 3D-printed FeCrAl heater coated with 15.5 % Ni/Al2O3 was tested in a parametric study in the catalytic steam reforming of biomass pyrolysis volatiles, in order to investigate the effect of the S/B ratio and space–time on the syngas yield and composition. Complete bio-oil reforming was obtained at a biomass feed rate of ≤ 1 g min−1 and a S/B ratio of ≥ 2, and stability close to 100 % was estimated after over four hours of operation. Nonetheless, the produced syngas is rich in C1 – C3 gases and moderately low in H2 (≈ 2 wt %). The effect of the catalyst's structure on the bio-oil reforming and heat efficiency was complemented using CFD simulations and compared to a simple geometry based on commercial extruded monoliths. Finally, the biomass-derived syngas upgrading to H2 production was assessed using different process simulations and compared to existing H2-producing technologies in terms of energy efficiency and emissions.

This study aims to improve the quality and yield of bio-oil produced from ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass (sawdust) using a combination of stage catalysts with Al-MCM-41, HZSM-5, and ZrO2. The research employed various methods, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry, bench-scale experiments, and process simulations to analyze the kinetics, thermodynamics, products, and energy flows of the catalytic upgrading process. The introduction of ZrO2 enhances the yield of monoaromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) in heavy organics. Compared with the dual-catalyst case, the MAHs yield escalates by approximately 344% at a catalyst ratio of 1:3:0.25. Additionally, GC-MS data indicate that the incorporation of ZrO2 promotes the deoxygenation reaction of the guaiacol compound and the oligomerization reactions of PAHs. The integration of ZrO2 as the third catalyst enhances the yield of heavy organics significantly, achieving 16.85% at a catalyst ratio of 1:3:1, which increases by nearly 35.6% compared to the dual-catalyst case. Also, the addition of ZrO2 as the third catalyst enhanced the energy distribution in heavy organics. These findings suggest that the combination of these catalysts improves the fuel properties and yields of the bio-oil.

Uncertainties with respect to the chemical composition of scrap limit its suitability as an input to recycling. This study offers an alternative approach in dealing with this concern and explores the hypothetical case where this uncertainty is nonexistent. The effect of fully knowing the scrap composition is simulated using an optimization software adopted to scrap-based, stainless-steel production. Through the systematic implementation of this information-driven model in the studied cases, the results suggest that with access to perfect information, recycling incentives can be realized. Essentially, the steel scraps’ consumption increased since it was possible to select and combine scrap quantities with varying composition profiles to achieve the targeted product compositions. This also meant that elements already in the scrap were allocated in a manner that was less dependent on pure alloy additions. Being able to demonstrate the value of information on scrap composition could rationalize upgrades on current scrap management systems.