%0 Journal Article
%T The Influence of Process Conditions on the Chemical Composition of Pine Wood Catalytic Pyrolysis Oils
%A J. Pereira
%A F. A. Agblevor
%A S. H. Beis
%J ISRN Renewable Energy
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/167629
%X Pine wood samples were used as model feedstock to study the properties of catalytic fast pyrolysis oils. The influence of two commercial zeolite catalysts (BASF and SudChem) and pretreatment of the pine wood with sodium hydroxide on pyrolysis products were investigated. The pyrolysis oils were first fractionated using column chromatography and characterized using GC-MS. Long chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, levoglucosan, aldehydes and ketones, guaiacols/syringols, and benzenediols were the major compounds identified in the pyrolysis oils. The catalytic pyrolysis increased the polycyclic hydrocarbons fraction. Significant decreases in phthalate derivatives using SudChem and long chain aliphatics using BASF catalyst were observed. Significant amounts of aromatic heterocyclic hydrocarbons and benzene derivatives were formed, respectively, using BASF and SudChem catalysts. Guaiacyl/syringyl and benzenediols derivatives were partly suppressed by the zeolite catalysts, while the sodium hydroxide treatment enriched phenolic derivatives. Zeolite catalyst and sodium hydroxide were employed together; they showed different results for each catalyst. 1. Introduction Biomass is a renewable and alternative resource that can be pyrolyzed to produce fuels and chemicals. Pyrolysis oils can potentially be substituted for fuel oil or diesel in many static applications including boilers, furnaces, engines, and turbines for electricity generation. There are also a range of chemicals that can be extracted or derived from pyrolysis oils including food flavorings, resins, agrochemicals, fertilizers, and emission control agents [1]. Considering their wide range of potential applications, understanding the molecular composition of the pyrolysis oils and upgraded products is highly desirable because it allows the determination of molecular-product property relations and the molecular processes taking place that are crucial information for the upgrading of the pyrolysis oils. It is also important for determining the changes occurring in the pyrolysis oils during handling, storage, and utilization [2]. Furthermore, the environmental impacts naturally depend on the nature of the chemical constituents; for example, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and benzenes are less environmentally friendly than anhydrosugars such as levoglucosan. Because the pyrolysis products are complex, highly oxygenated, and unstable, analysis of pyrolysis liquids is a challenge, and the direct application of standard methods known, for example, from petroleum liquid analysis is not possible. There are several
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.renewable.energy/2012/167629/