Energy, fuels, and chemicals jZZl 



have indicated reaction times of 25 to 30 minutes should be adequate for a 

 commercial plant. Product yield ranges from 40 to 50 percent of wet wood 

 weight. On a volume basis, the heating value of the wood-produced oil is about 

 four times higher than that of wood. The viscosity of the oil is high and has 

 presented some problems in mobility (table 26-13). Research at the Albany plant 

 is aimed at solving problems of viscosity buildup and purification of the oil 

 (Lindemuth 1978; Ergun 1979; Ergun et al. 1980). 



Table 26-13. — Average properties of oil produced from wood (Lindemuth 1978) 



Reactor residence time 



Property 20 min 60 min 



Viscosity Ca 100. L.Cp 10,000-20,000 3,000-12,000 



Heating value Btu/lb 15,700 16,000 



Elemental analysis 



% C 86.0 88.3 



% H 6.4 6.7 



% O 6.4 4.0 



% N 0.4 0.1 



MILLER AND FELLOWS PROCESS 



Miller and Fellows (1981) found that complete liquefaction of biomass was 

 accomplished by heating it to 350°C for less than 1 hour in the presence of 

 phenol, a lewis acid (e.g., zinc chloride), a mild acid (e.g., sodium dihydrogen 

 phosphate), or a mild base (e.g., sodium carbonate), with or without hydrogen 

 gas, and under sufficient pressure to maintain the liquid phase. When cellulose 

 was used, yields of non-phenolic products ranged up to 50 percent of the dry 

 cellulose weight. When wood was used, the reaction was also a net producer of 

 phenols. Non-phenolic products were mainly furanoid or aromatic; xanthene 

 was a major fraction. The phenolic fractions would be recycled, with some 

 recovery of phenols. The non-phenolic fraction should be usable as a chemical 

 feed stock, or, if produced on a relatively small scale, it could be blended with 

 gasoline or diesel fuel after fractionation provided, in the case of diesel, it was a 

 low percentage blend. If produced in large amounts, the non-phenolic fractions 

 and surplus phenols should be able to be hydrogenated to make gasoline and 

 diesel fuels. 



26-7 HYDROLYSIS AND FERMENTATION 



HYDROLYSIS PRODUCTS 



Cellulose and hemicelluloses, the principal polymeric carbohydrates (poly- 

 saccharides) of wood, can be converted into simple hexose (six carbon) and 

 pentose (five carbon) sugars by hydrolysis. Cellulose, which is a linear polymer 

 of p(K4) linked anhydroglucose units, yields the hexose sugar glucose. 



