Physical and Simulated Distillation of Oxygen-Rich Biocrudes

Abstract

The presence of oxygenated compounds within wood-derived biocrudes was determined to affect standard physical and simulated distillation (SD). Biocrude thermal reactivity made physical distillation challenging, which was deemed better suited for partially upgraded, i.e., deoxygenated biocrudes. Gas chromatography SD was determined to be affected by oxygenates' elution and their burning properties in flame ionization detectors. Correction factors were developed and verified for matching SD with physical distillation. Corrected simulated distillation was found better suitable for process monitoring despite the existence of CS 2 insoluble biocrude fractions (standard solvent for SD), which were determined to partition into both distillable and residua fractions, thus further challenging the interpretation of SD results.