Bio-oil gets an upgrade

Upgrading bio-oil for improved energy density

Forming bio-oil from wood is a strategy to develop fuel from biomass, however, the oxygen content of bio-oil (40%) means that the energy density is not as high as crude oil. It is also too unstable to store. So, giving bio-oil an upgrade, decreasing its oxygen content and reactivity, is necessary.

Scientists from Germany have used Raney Ni as a catalyst and propan-2-ol as a H-donor to upgrade phenolics and aromatics from biorefinery feeds. The team demonstrated that hydrogen transfer reactions could be carried out under low-severity conditions. Current methods require extreme conditions and give low yields.

Read the EES ‘HOT’ paper:

Exploiting H-transfer reactions with Raney Ni for upgrade of phenolic and aromatic biorefinery feeds under unusual, low-severity conditions
X Wang and R Rinaldi
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2ee21855k

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