(145a) Enhancing Biocrude Quality through Solar-Simulated Hydrogen Production and Thermal Cracking

This paper aims to upgrade bio crude that was obtained from Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of local mixed marine microalgal consortium biomass by utilising hydrogen generated through thermochemical water splitting (TWS). TWS process was carried out by using solar simulator. HTL biocrude consists of volatile fractions and non-volatile fraction. In order to enhance the quality of the biocrude, the non-volatile fractions was thermally cracked at 4 bars at temperatures reaching up to 600°C, converting heavy molecules into lighter hydrocarbons. Hydrogen produced from thermochemical water splitting (TWS) was then used to treat these lighter hydrocarbons and the volatile fractions in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) stage. This hydrogen was generated by lab synthesized perovskite, a solar simulator. To optimize the thermochemical water splitting (TWS) and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) processes, light intensity and spectrum was precisely adjusted using the solar simulator, which simulates sunshine conditions. The main objective of the current is to create high quality renewable hydrocarbon fuels with greater stability and energy content. Through the development of a scalable technique, the project seeks to advance the efficiency and sustainability of fuel generation technologies by combining solar driven hydrogen synthesis with biocrude upgrading.