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Liquefaction of Softwoods and Hardwoods in Supercritical Methanol: A Novel Approach to Bio-Oil Production

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Biomass Conversion

Abstract

The production of consistent renewable-based hydrocarbons from woody biomass involves the efficient conversion into stable product streams. Supercritical methanol treatment is a new approach to efficiently convert woody biomass into bio-oil at modest processing temperatures (> 238 °C) and pressures (> 8.1 MPa). The conversion of common Alaskan tree species namely, Alaskan birch and Sitka spruce, was evaluated using the supercritical methanol liquefaction process to yield bio-oil and biochar fractions. Results show that liquefaction of softwoods and hardwoods can be achieved in excess of 90 wt%. The biochar was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed that this was lignin derived. The volatile components from the resultant bio-oil were chemically characterized (composition) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting bio-oil was comprised of partially methylated lignin-derived monomers and sugar derivatives which results in a stable and consistent product platform that can be followed by catalytic upgrading into a drop-in-fuel. The broader implications of this novel approach to obtain sustainable bioenergy and biofuel infrastructure are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by USDA-CSREES Wood Utilization Research program grant #2008-34158-19486. The FTIR spectrometer was supported by a USDA-CSREES-NRI equipment grant #2005-35103–15243.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Palmer, AK, 99645, USA

    J. Andres Soria

  2. School of Engineering, University of Alaska Anchorage, Palmer, AK, 99645, USA

    J. Andres Soria

  3. Renewable Materials Program, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-1132, USA

    Armando G. McDonald

Authors
  1. J. Andres Soria
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  2. Armando G. McDonald
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Armando G. McDonald .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. of Environmental Engineering and B, Myongji University, San 38-2 Namdong, cheoin-gu 38-2, Yongin, 449-728, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Chinnappan Baskar

  2. , THDC Institute of Hydropower, Uttarakhand Technical University, Tehri, Dehradun, 248001, India

    Shikha Baskar

  3. , Dept. of Chemistry, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 141004, Punjab, India

    Ranjit S. Dhillon

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Andres Soria, J., McDonald, A.G. (2012). Liquefaction of Softwoods and Hardwoods in Supercritical Methanol: A Novel Approach to Bio-Oil Production. In: Baskar, C., Baskar, S., Dhillon, R. (eds) Biomass Conversion. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28418-2_13

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