Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Hassan, El Barbary M.

Committee Member

Steele, Philip H.

Committee Member

Kim, Moon G.

Date of Degree

12-15-2012

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Forest Products

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Forest Products

Abstract

Energy issues in the United States are currently receiving a very high priority. There is a strong desire to replace fossil fuels with alternative sources of energy since fuel prices are rising dramatically, and for the harming effect on the environment. Biomass is one of the most promising alternative sources of energy. In this study, hydrothermal liquefaction with alcohol co-solvents was applied on giant miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus) feedstock. All liquefaction experiments were conducted in 5500 series Parr® reactor. The most important parameters that affect the liquefaction process were studied. The yield of the liquefaction process was determined gravimetrically and the produced bio-oils were characterized. Bio-oil obtained at the optimum conditions was upgraded using different solid acid catalysts and the chemical composition for the upgraded bio-oil was determined. In a new study, the solid acids were added directly during the liquefaction process to produce upgraded bio-oil in one liquefaction/upgrading step.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18922

Comments

Biomass||alcohols||hydrothermal liquefaction||fuels

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