Thermal degradation of cellulose in alkali
Biomass in an alkaline aqueous slurry can be liquefied by heat and pressure. We are interested in better understanding the mechanisms of biomass liquefaction to improve the efficiency of converting biomass to useful products, particularly chemicals and synthetic fuels. To study the chemical mechanisms of this process, we liquefied pure cellulose, the main component of biomass; later we plan to expand our study to include lignin and hemi-cellulose. The 78 cellulose liquefaction products that we have identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry include polyols, furans, ketones, hydrocarbons, and aromatic compounds. Polyols may be formed by hydrogenolytic cleavage. Furans and cyclic ketones may be cyclization products of dicarbonyl intermediates formed by aldol condensation of small initial degradation products such as acetone and acrolein. We used several of these small carbonyl compounds as model compounds to test our proposed mechanisms for furans and cyclic ketones and obtained products supporting five of the mechanisms. For the best case of 26 cellulose liquefaction experiments, 34% of the initial mass of the cellulose was converted to acetone-soluble oil with a heat of combustion of 14,000 Btu/lb.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest Laboratory Richland, Washington
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6818534
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-801210-
- Journal Information:
- Alternative Energy Sources; (United States), Journal Name: Alternative Energy Sources; (United States) Vol. 3; ISSN ALESD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
AROMATICS
CARBOHYDRATES
CELLULOSE
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHEMICAL REACTION YIELD
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COMBUSTION HEAT
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY
ENTHALPY
FUEL OILS
FUELS
FURANS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HEAT
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
KETONES
KINETICS
LIQUEFACTION
LIQUID FUELS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MIXTURES
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLYMERS
POLYOLEFINS
POLYSACCHARIDES
REACTION HEAT
REACTION KINETICS
SACCHARIDES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUBILITY
SOLUTIONS
SPECTROSCOPY
SYNTHETIC FUELS
THERMAL DEGRADATION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
YIELDS