Thermoliquefaction of palm oil fiber (Elaeis sp.) using supercritical ethanol

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 230; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Oliveira, Aline L.P.C., Almeida, Priscila S., Campos, Maria C.V., Franceschi, Elton, Dariva, Cláudio, Borges, Gustavo R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2017
• Subjects: Bio-oil; Biofuels - analysis; Biomass; Biotechnology - methods; Dietary Fiber; Elements; Ethanol - chemistry; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Palm Oil; Palm oil fiber; Plant Oils - chemistry; Solvents; Supercritical ethanol; Temperature; Thermogravimetry; Thermoliquefaction; Thermoliquefaction; Supercritical ethanol; Palm oil fiber; Bio-oil
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.01.029

•Thermoliquefaction of palm oil fiber was studied employing supercritical ethanol.•The proposed apparatus dispenses the use of biomass slurries.•Bio-oil yields ranged from 56% to 84% depending on the experimental conditions.
Thermoliquefaction of palm oil fiber was investigated using supercritical ethanol as solvent. A semi-continuous laboratory scale unit was developed to investigate the effects of temperature (300–500°C), heating rate (10–30°C.min−1) and cracking time (10–30min) on the conversion of biomass in bio-oil. The main advantage of the proposed process is that a pure solvent is pumping through the reactor that contains the biomass, dispensing the use of biomass slurries. The yield of bio-oil ranged from 56% to 84%, depending on the experimental conditions. It was observed that an increase in working temperature led to an increase in the bio-oil production. Cracking time and heating rate variation had not shown a considerable effect on the conversion of biomass. The chemical profiles of bio-oil determined by GC/MS, indicate that at low temperature mainly sugar derivatives are produced, while at higher temperatures alcohols and phenolic are the majority compounds of the bio-oil.