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Performance research of metal-doped zeolite catalysts on the production of nitrogen-containing compounds via microwave pyrolysis

  • Bingcheng Wang , Jing Bai EMAIL logo , Hai Chen , Zihui Sun , Chenxu Qiu , Wei Chen , Chun Chang , Shusheng Pang and Pan Li EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: June 25, 2025
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International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering
From the journal International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering Volume 23 Issue 7

Abstract

This study explores the microwave pyrolysis characteristics of raw tobacco stems and tobacco stems impregnated with urea using different metal-loaded zeolite catalysts. Due to the cracking effect of HZSM-5 and the dehydrogenation activity of Ni sites, the sum of CO and H2 yields in both raw tobacco stem and tobacco stem impregnated with urea gas products exceeded 50 %. The 10Ni catalyst reduced the content of organic acids in the raw tobacco stem liquid product from 17.51 % to 10.88 %. The addition of catalysts increased the nitrogen-containing compounds (NCCS) content substantially. Catalytic pyrolysis promoted the decomposition of nicotine, resulting in a rapid decrease of the nicotine content in tobacco stem impregnated with urea liquid products. The content of amines increased rapidly with a maximum 30.79 %. The addition of Cr improved the selectivity of catalysts for indoles with a maximum yield 8.48 %. Cr sites promoted further dehydration, condensation and cyclization of some amines to produce indole. The content of pyridine in the liquid products of tobacco stems impregnated with urea is also high, reaching 27.91 %. This study first introduces the synergistic effect of Ni–Cr co-modification combined with an external nitrogen source (urea) to selectively regulate the formation of NCCs, providing a novel approach for the valorization of tobacco residues, such as tobacco stems.

Keywords: tobacco stem; microwave pyrolysis; nitrogen-rich compounds; Ni–Cr/HZSM-5 catalysts; bio-oil
Corresponding authors: Jing Bai, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China; State Key Laboratory of Biobased Transport Fuel Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China; and Henan Key Laboratory of Green Manufacturing of Biobased Chemicals, Puyang, China, E-mail: ; and Pan Li, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China; State Key Laboratory of Biobased Transport Fuel Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China; Hunan Tai Tong Energy Management Co.,LTD, Changsha, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Green Manufacturing of Biobased Chemicals, Puyang, China; and Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China, E-mail:

Funding source: Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province

Award Identifier / Grant number: 242300421229

  1. Research ethics: The local Institutional Review Board deemed the study exempt from review.

  2. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study, or their legal guardians or wards.

  3. Author contributions: The author(s) have (has) accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: AI tools such as large-scale language models (e.g., ChatGPT) were used in some of the text collation, language embellishment or auxiliary analysis processes in this study. All data analysis, research design and conclusions were done independently by the researchers, and AI tools were only involved as auxiliary tools, which did not affect the scientificity and authenticity of the study.

  5. Conflict of interest: The author(s) state(s) no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (No. 242300421229), the Program of Henan Center for Outstanding Overseas Scientists (No. GZS2022007), the Project of Nanyang Collaborative Innovation (Nanyang Research Institute of Zhengzhou University) (No. 22XTCX12007), and the Foundation of Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, (Southeast University) (No. 2242023k30025).

  7. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2024-0211).

Received: 2024-10-14
Accepted: 2025-06-07
Published Online: 2025-06-25

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  5. Performance research of metal-doped zeolite catalysts on the production of nitrogen-containing compounds via microwave pyrolysis
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https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2024-0211
Keywords for this article
tobacco stem; microwave pyrolysis; nitrogen-rich compounds; Ni–Cr/HZSM-5 catalysts; bio-oil

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review
  3. Removal of ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin from wastewater using photocatalysis and biological treatment methods: a mini review
  4. Articles
  5. Performance research of metal-doped zeolite catalysts on the production of nitrogen-containing compounds via microwave pyrolysis
  6. Thermodynamic equilibrium modeling of gasification for syngas production from carbonaceous feed containing the sulfur impurity
  7. Suspended sediment concentration profiles using conservation law: a mixing length approach
  8. Effective photocatalytic performance of PANI, PPy, and PTh in the removal of Ciprofloxacin and Pefloxacin: a comparative study
  9. Efficacy of surface treated agro waste for nitrate and phosphate removal in wastewater
  10. Efficacy of chitosan based activated carbon for mercury removal from wastewater through adsorption kinetic and thermodynamic studies for environmental sustainability
  11. Decolorization of azo dye containing wastewater using combined photocatalytic ozonation and Fe doped TiO2 nanoparticles with RSM based optimization
  12. Simulation of a novel supergravity submerged reactor for separating hot-dip galvanizing dross
  13. Book Review
  14. Vivek Dave and Arindam Kuila: Nanomaterials as a Catalystfor Biofuel Production
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