Thermochemical conversion of biomass into fuels and chemicals

The potential offered by biomass for solving some of the world's energy problems is widely recognized. The energy in biomass may be realized either by direct use or by upgrading into a more valuable product. Thermochemical methods have been explored in this work to convert renewable plant-derived biomass to liquid fuel products.; Catalytic hydrotreatment was used to reduce rosin acid, an abundant and inexpensive by-product of forest product industry, to a liquid product evaluated as diesel fuel blend stock. Experiments were performed at different operating conditions in batch and continuous processes using commercially available hydrotreatment and hydrogenation catalysts. Consistent yields of over 80% and cetane indices as high as 47 were achieved in the batch process. A catalyst aging study was performed in batch mode. Yields of over 90% were achieved in the continuous process using different solvents and catalysts. The experiments with product recycling gave encouraging results.; Supercritical water oxidation technology is based on unique properties of water above its critical point of 374°C and 221 bars. This supercritical water medium is conducive to rapid oxidation reactions of a various organic compounds. Partial oxidation can be achieved by limiting the quantity of the oxidant. A high-pressure microreactor was designed to achieve conversion of biomass via supercritical water partial oxidation to transportation fuels.