Valorization of bio-oil from maple sawdust for transportation fuels

Fuels from biomass (biofuels) are used to mitigate the greenhouse gases produced through the utilization of fossil fuels. Non-edible or waste biomass can be pyrolized to produce bio-oil. The oil (an unstable and low energy product) can be further upgraded through hydrodeoxygenation to produce gas and/or diesel range hydrocarbons and value added chemicals. In this research, the valorization of fast pyrolysis bio-oil from maple sawdust was explored in two steps. Primarily, solvent extraction was carried out to remove water from the bio-oil (35% water, 55% oxygen and a heating value of 21.6 MJ/kg). The solvents explored were benzene, ethanol, and chloroform. Chloroform reduced the amount of high molecular oxygenates from 58 to 30%, increased the amount of hydrocarbons from 20 to 41%, and reduced the moisture content t