Coke deposition pathways have been studied during the fluid catalytic cracking of bio-oil, vacuum gasoil (VGO) and a blend of the previous two (80wt% VGO and 20wt% bio-oil), under realistic riser conditions of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, using a commercial catalyst at 500°C and contact times of 1.5–10s. Amount and composition of soluble and insoluble coke in dichloromethane have been analyzed using a set of techniques (TPO, FTIR, 13C NMR, XPS, Raman, GC–MS and MALDI-TOF MS, among others). The relationship of coke deposition with its composition and the reaction medium has allowed us to set two pathways of coke formation: (i) heavy hydrocarbon pathway tend to form ordered polycondensed aromatic nanostructures; whereas (ii) oxygenate pathway tend to form a lighter fraction of coke containing oxygen, less ordered and more aliphatic coke. A synergy between the two pathways have been verified due to the lower coke deposition of the blend compared to the individual components, and this has been explained in terms of (i) attenuation of the heavy hydrocarbon pathway caused by the steam contained or originated from the bio-oil, and (ii) the hydride transfer from hydrocarbons to the precursors of the oxygenate pathway

The development of new redox polymers is being boosted by the increasing interest in the area of energy and health. The development of new polymers is needed to further advance new applications or improve the performance of actual devices such as batteries, supercapacitors, or drug delivery systems. Here we show the synthesis and characterization of a new polymer which combines the present most successful conjugated polymer backbone and the most successful redox active side group, i.e., poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and a nitroxide stable radical. First, a derivative of the 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) molecule with side nitroxide stable radical group (TEMPO) was synthesized. The electrochemical polymerization of the PEDOT-TEMPO monomer was investigated in detail using cyclic voltammetry, potential step, and constant current methods. Monomer and polymer were characterized by NMR, FTIR, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, elemental analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and four-point probe conductivity. The new PEDOT-TEMPO radical polymer combines the electronic conductivity of the conjugated polythiophene backbone and redox properties of the nitroxide group. As an example of application, this redox active polymer was used as a conductive binder in lithium ion batteries. Good cycling stability with high Coulombic efficiency and increased cyclability at different rates were obtained using this polymer as a replacement of two ingredients: conductive carbon additive and polymeric binders.