Bio-oil production from oil palm biomass via subcritical and supercritical hydrothermal liquefaction

• Published in: The Journal of supercritical fluids Vol. 95; pp. 407 - 412
• Main Authors: Chan, Yi Herng, Yusup, Suzana, Quitain, Armando T., Uemura, Yoshimitsu, Sasaki, Mitsuru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.11.2014
• Subjects: Alcohols; Bio-oil; Biomass; Esters; Hydrothermal liquefaction; Liquefaction; Nickel base alloys; Oil palm biomass; Optimization; Palm; Subcritical and supercritical; Supercritical fluids; Oil palm biomass; Subcritical and supercritical; Hydrothermal liquefaction; Bio-oil
• ISSN: 0896-8446; 1872-8162
• DOI: 10.1016/j.supflu.2014.10.014

•Water is used as a green solvent to liquefy palm biomass to bio-oil.•The optimum liquefaction condition of oil palm biomass is 390°C and 25MPa.•The optimum condition corresponds to the lowest density of water.•The optimum condition corresponds to the lowest dielectric constant of water.•The maximum bio-oil yield in this study is 38.53wt%. This paper presents the studies on the liquefaction of three types of oil palm biomass; empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm mesocarp fiber (PMF) and palm kernel shell (PKS) using water at subcritical and supercritical conditions. The effect of temperature (330, 360, 390°C) and pressure (25, 30, 35MPa) on bio-oil yields were investigated in the liquefaction process using a Inconel batch reactor. The optimum liquefaction condition of the three types of biomass was found to be at supercritical condition of water i.e. at 390°C and 25MPa, with PKS yielding the maximum bio-oil yield of 38.53wt%, followed by EFB and PMF, with optimum yields of 37.39wt% and 34.32wt%, respectively. The chemical compositions of the bio-oils produced at optimum condition were analyzed using GC–MS and phenolic compounds constituted the major portion of the bio-oils, with other minor compounds present such as alcohols, ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons and esters.