Colombian fusel oil

Abstract

By-products valorization in bio-fuels industry is an important issue for making the global process more efficient, more profitable and closer to the concept of biorefinery. Fusel oil is a by-product of bioethanol production that can be considered as an inexpensive and renewable raw material for manufacturing value-added products. In this work, results in terms of composition and physicochemical properties of six samples of fusel oil from industrial alcohol facilities are presented. Composition of the main components was established by gas chromatography. Complementary techniques, such as headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), were used for detection of minor components. Fifty-five compounds were identified. Physicochemical properties such as density, acid value, moisture content and true boiling point curves were determined. Results are useful in the conceptual design of separation strategies for recovering higher alcohols, as well as to consider new options of valorization alternatives for fusel oil.Keywords: Fuel ethanol, higher alcohols, GC-MS analysis, solid-phase microextraction, TBP. RESUMENLos subproductos para valorización en la industria de los biocombustibles es un tema importante para alcanzar un proceso global más eficiente, más rentable y más cerca del concepto de biorrefinería. El aceite de fusel es un subproducto de la producción de bioetanol que se puede considerar como una materia prima barata y renovable para la fabricación de productos de valor agregado. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados en términos de composición y de las propiedades físico-químicas de seis muestras de aceite de fusel de las instalaciones industriales de alcohol. La composición de los componentes principales se estableció mediante cromatografía de gases. Técnicas complementarias, como espacio de cabeza, microextracción en fase sólida, y cromatografía de gasesespectrometría de masas (GC-MS), fueron utilizadas para la detección de componentes menores. Se identificaron cincuenta y cinco compuestos. Se determinaron las propiedades físico-químicas, como la densidad, el índice de acidez, el contenido de humedad y las curvas de puntos verdaderos de ebullición. Los resultados son útiles en el diseño conceptual de las estrategias de separación para la recuperación de alcoholes superiores, así como para comprobar las opciones de alternativas de valorización del aceite de fusel Palabras Clave: Etanol-combustible, alcoholes pesados, análisis GC-MS, micro-extracción en fase sólida, TBP.

Fusel Oil: Chemical Composition and an Overview of Its Potential Application

“…13,37 On the other hand, there are other factors that reduce its production, such as the large capacity of the fermenters, high ethanol yield and control of process variables that help in the selectivity of yeasts, resulting in greater ethanol production and lower FO formation. 9 The diversity of the raw material, the fermentation process and the purification of ethanol influence the composition of the FO. 33 From Table 1, it is possible to see that there is great variation in the composition of FO.…”

“…39,40 For example, from the amino acids isoleucine, valine and threonine there is the production of 2-methyl-1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol isomer), isoamyl alcohol and propanol, respectively. 39,41 In addition, the recovery of ethanol from FO performed by distilleries interferes in the composition of higher alcohols 9,33 as a result of the thermodynamic interactions present in FO (homogeneous and heterogeneous azeotropes). 12 Esters with flavoring properties are usually shortchain fatty acid esters (C 6 and C 8 ), and are essential flavor components in foods, beverages and cosmetics, due to the growing consumer demand for foods with natural flavors.…”

“…FO is composed of a mixture of alcohols (isoamyl alcohol, ethanol, isobutanol and propanol) and water, 9,10 whose composition varies according to the raw material (for example: sugarcane, barley, corn, rice and sugar beet) used in the fermentation process of alcohol production, and to the efficiency of its separation from the fermented mixture. 11,12 FO has a high content of isoamyl alcohol (57.65-74%), 10,13,14 which enables its use as an acyl acceptor of trans-and esterification reactions for the production of esters with flavoring properties, 10,15 biolubricants, 16,17 and fuels, 18,19 as well as a fossil fuel additive.…”

Hydrogen Production by Steam Reforming of Fusel Oil Using a CeCoOx Mixed‐Oxide Catalyst

“…Deposited carbon would deactivate the active size of Co, as shown in Eqs. (11) and (12). Moreover, the active oxygen from CeO 2 probably interacted with water to regenerate oxygencontaining species that could then react with the deposited carbon [6,9,32,37], according to Eqs.…”

“…Fusel oil is a by‐product of biomass fermentation and is composed of low‐molecular‐weight alcohols (such as isoamyl alcohol in particular, and isobutyl alcohol, n ‐propyl alcohol, n ‐butyl alcohol, ethanol, and n ‐amyl alcohol), water in small amounts and aldehydes in trace amounts, fatty acids and their esters, higher alcohols, and terpenes , . Thus, fusel oil could potentially become the source of HC precursors for steam reforming reactions (SRRs).…”