(177c) Distillate Fractions from Hydrotreated Bio-Oils: Comprehensive Analyses

Producing an infrastructure-ready fuel from biomass requires a better understanding of the chemical constituents of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel fractions of the biofuel product. Determining the heteroatom concentration in a specific fraction, especially O and S, impacts the acceptability of a distillate fraction within specific fuel specifications. These reactive and corrosive components can cause complications during downstream processing of the upgraded bio-oils. We have developed a suite of standardized methods to analyze and quantify the bio-oil components. We refined the analysis of distillates from pyrolysis oil by controlling the source and processing of hydroprocessed bio-oils with two oxygen contents. The upgraded bio-oils were subsequently distilled into five fractions. Analytical techniques such as elemental analysis, density, viscosity, simulated distillation (ASTM D2887), ¹³C NMR, PIANO and HPLC measurements were used and results will be presented. Specific fractions were found to satisfy boiling point requirements. However, functional group characterization is needed to determine the fraction’s actual utility, for example as a co-processing stream in the refinery or as a fuel blend stock.  The methods developed, lessons learned, and application of these methods to different oils will be discussed.