(64g) An Evaluation of Pyrolysis Oil Properties and Chemistry As Related to Process and Upgrade Conditions with Special Consideration to Pipeline Shipment

One factor limiting the development of commercial biomass pyrolysis is the difficulty of transporting the produced pyrolysis oil.  The oil has different chemical and physical properties than crude oil, including high acidity, viscosity, density, water content, carbon forming potential, and corrosivity.  These factors limit its ability to be transported by pipeline.  Changing pyrolysis reactor conditions or catalytically upgrading pyrolysis oil could help reduce these undesirable properties.  In addition to making transportation by pipeline possible, changing pyrolysis conditions and upgrading oil could help create a higher quality end fuel by rendering the oils miscible with hydrocarbon fuels, raising their energy density, and decreasing their corrosiveness and other undesirable properties.  In this study, both published and in-house data on pyrolysis oil properties were compiled into a data set along with feedstock source material, pyrolysis reactor conditions, and upgrading condition information. Oil properties were correlated to operating conditions and to each other to determine how improvements in pyrolysis oil can be achieved and tracked. Properties were then compared to upgrading as measured by oxygen and water content and applied to the example problem of pipeline shipment by comparisons to typical crude oil pipeline requirements. It appears that about 2% oxygen content is a reasonable target for pipeline shipment and for further processing in a refinery.  Data of this type is expected to help the understanding of pipeline shipment of pyrolysis oil to a refinery, either as a segregated batch or blended with crude oil, where it can be further processed to fuel or used directly as a source of process heat.