Production of High-Grade Carbonaceous Materials and Fuel Having Similar Chemical and Physical Properties from Various Types of Biomass by Degradative Solvent Extraction

Abstract

Eight types of biomass waste samples, microcrystalline cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were subjected to a degradative extraction method that treats carbonaceous resources in a non-hydrogen donor at around 350°C. The treated products were separated at 350°C to recover the extract and residue (the latter was termed Residue). The extract was further separated into two fractions: a fraction that precipitates as a solid (termed Deposit(s)) and the soluble fraction (termed Soluble(s)) at room temperature. The carbon-based yields of the three fractions obtained from the biomass wastes were 36.8− 71.6% Solubles, 4.4−10.6% Deposits, and 15.1−27.5% Residues. The remaining carbon was converted to CO 2 , CO, and a small amount of hydrocarbons that could not be separated from the solvent. Most of the ash was concentrated in the Residues, whereas the Solubles were almost completely free from ash. Surprisingly, the chemical and physical properties of the Solubles produced from the eight biomass waste samples were highly similar. The Solubles from the various biomasses had elemental compositions in the range of C = 81.0−83.3 wt %, H = 6.1−7.3 wt %, and O = 7.3−11.1 wt %. The Solubles comprised uniform low-molecularweight compounds with a peak molecular weight at around 300. The Solubles melted completely below 90°C, and 60−70% of the Solubles were devolatilized below 400°C. The Solubles, which constituted the largest yield fraction and have unique properties, have potential utility for various purposes.

The effect of organic solvent thermal treatment on the physicochemical properties of lignite

“…hydroxyl and carboxyl) decomposed and the pore structure of lignite shrunk. Meanwhile, tar that was produced during thermal decomposition of lignite blocked some of the pores and reduced the specific surface area and pore volume of lignite . Some scholars found that the internal pore structure intensity of lignite gradually produces irreversible plastic deformation with the effect of temperature and pressure .…”

Investigation on Conversion Pathways in Degradative Solvent Extraction of Rice Straw by Using Liquid Membrane-FTIR Spectroscopy

“…Pretreatment that results in the removal of water from biomass is necessary prior to its use in any thermal conversion processes. The degradative solvent extraction (DSE) method has been used successfully to dewater and upgrade low-rank coals [11][12][13][14][15] and biomass [16][17][18] under mild conditions. In DSE, low-rank coal and biomass are treated in a nonpolar solvent in a batch autoclave reactor at around 350 • C under pressure.…”

Liquid phase pyrolysis of wheat straw and poplar in hexadecane solvent

“…Water assisted liquefaction requires severe conditions, such as, 50-200 bar pressure and 250-350 °C temperature. An alternative route to process lignocellulosic materials is degradation in none-hydrogen donor organic solvent referred to as liquid phase pyrolysis (LPP) [8][9][10][11][12][13] or degradative extraction (DE) [14][15][16]. According to this method lignocellulosic material is treated at ~350 °C under liquid phase organic solvent and inert atmosphere at relatively low pressure (max.…”

“…Gases, mainly CO 2 , and water solubles, non-miscible with the applied solvent, mainly H 2 O, are also formed. Studies report about the use of different organic solvents, such as, mixture of n-alkanes, boiling in the temperature range of 410 and 440 °C [8,9], vacuum gasoline (VGO) that is a mixture of alkanes and aromatics, having a boiling range of 300-580 °C [10,11,13], n-hexane (bp: 69 °C) [12] and 1-methylnaphtalene (bp: 240-243 °C) [14][15][16].…”