A TOTAL SCATTERING NEUTRON STUDY OF BIOCHAR: A NOVEL SOLID ACID CATALYST

Pyrolysis is considered as a sustainable way to generate energy from bio-oil, however, biochar – a solid residue by-product– is inevitably produced in the production line. We have previously attempted to modify biochar as a solid acid catalyst with magnetic functionality. The material showed promising catalytic activity for the esterification of oleic acid and methanol to give a 64% yield of biodiesel. In order to optimise their catalytic performance, a deeper understanding of the surface properties of biochar is essential.Total scattering neutron is a useful method to determine the local atomic structure of a material. We would like to understand how the structure of biochar is modified upon sulfonation, amination, oxidation and metal addition. The use of biochar as a low cost and renewable carbon based solid acid catalyst will open new applications in industrial catalysis.