(400e) A Comparative Study Of Rapid Pyrolysis Oils From Woody Biomass And Poultry Litter

Bio-oils produced from the rapid pyrolysis of poultry litter and hardwoods were observed to have considerable differences in their higher heating values, nitrogen contents, sulfur contents, and viscosities. In order to develop suitable applications of these potential biorefinery feedstocks, it is essential to characterized bio-oils with respect to their physico-chemical properties. Thus, bio-oils produced from the rapid pyrolysis of hardwood bedding material, broiler litter, and turkey litter were fractionated into acidic, basic, neutral and hydrocarbon fractions. The fractions were then characterized by gas chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, Fourier Transform infrared spectrometry, 13C-NMR, elemental analysis, and higher heating values (HHV). The bio-oils from the poultry litter had higher viscosities, nitrogen content, and HHVs than the corresponding samples from the hardwood. The hydrocarbon and neutral compounds content of the poultry litter oils were ten times higher than the corresponding hardwood biooils. Some oil fractions had very high levels of polymeric material and were very difficult to analyze by any of the above methods. There is a need to develop other characterization tools that will account for all fractions and analyze the bio-oils without necessarily fractionating them.