Bio-Oil Properties and Stability in Thermochemical Conversion
Summary
Bio-oil derived from thermochemical conversion of biomass encompasses a complex mixture of oxygenated compounds, water and char residues. Its high oxygen content and acidity confer low calorific value and corrosivity, while elevated viscosities and emulsion tendencies complicate handling and storage. Stability is compromised by reactive aldehydes, ketones and phenolics that undergo polymerisation, esterification and condensation reactions upon ageing, leading to increases in viscosity, phase separation and deposition of insoluble fractions. Advances in feedstock pretreatment, catalytic upgrading and controlled heating profiles have been shown to mitigate such issues. Co-pyrolysis with plastics or solvents can suppress reactive intermediates, while multi-stage thermal protocols concentrate and remove unstable fractions. Analytical methods tracking carbonyl content and molecular-weight distribution under accelerated ageing protocols provide insight into mechanisms of degradation. Improving stability is central to enabling bio-oil as a renewable fuel blendstock, chemical precursor or heating oil substitute, with direct implications for decarbonisation of heat and transport sectors worldwide.
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Bio-Oil Properties and Stability in Thermochemical Conversion publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in bio-oil properties and stability in thermochemical conversion across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Thermochemical conversion: A family of processes using heat to decompose biomass into liquids, gases and solids in the absence or presence of a controlled oxidant.
Pyrolysis: Thermal decomposition of organic feedstocks at elevated temperatures in an oxygen-limited environment to produce bio-oil, syngas and char.
Bio-oil: A dark, oxygenated liquid mixture of water, organic acids, aldehydes, ketones, phenolics and oligomeric species generated by thermochemical biomass conversion.
Carbonyl content: The concentration of aldehyde and ketone functional groups in bio-oil, often used as a surrogate marker for stability and ageing.
Stepwise pyrolysis: A multi-stage heating approach in which biomass is sequentially exposed to distinct temperature regimes to fractionate reactive components and improve product quality.
References
- Catalytic Pyrolysis of Biomass and Polymer Wastes. Catalysts (2018).
- Historical Review on VTT Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil Production and Upgrading. Energy & Fuels (2021).
- Bio-oil stability through stepwise pyrolysis of groundnut shells: Role of chemical composition, alkali and alkaline earth metals, and storage conditions. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis (2021).
- Accelerated Aging Process of Bio-Oil Model Compounds: A Mechanism Study. Frontiers in Energy Research (2020).
- Aldehydes and ketones in pyrolysis oil: analytical determination and their role in the aging process. RSC Advances (2022).
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