Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Dev. 1985, 2 4 , 304-31 1
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Hydrogen-Donor Solvents in Biomass Liquefaction Nicholas P. Vasilakos' and David M. Austgen Department of Chemical Englneering, Universtty of Texas, Austln, Texas 78712
The liquefaction of pure a-cellulose with hydrogendonor solvents such as tetralln and 2-propanol was studied in
a batch autoclave system under both inert and hydrogen atmospheres. Reaction conditions involved temperatures between 270 and 400 O C , residence times between 0 and 60 min, and hydrogen pressures between 0 and 500 psi. The use of homogeneous and heterogeneous hydrogenolysis catalysts was also investigated. Under these conditions, up to 100% of the initial cellulose feed was converted, resulting in oil yields greater than 50%. The oxygen content of the product oil was significantly lower than that of the cellulose feed (less than 25 wt % in most cases),and it generally decreased with increasing reaction temperature. Low and intermediate temperatures (
