Liquefaction of Wood

Among the various types of biomass, wood is a promising resource, because of its huge stocks and because it is not an edible crop. However, effective conversion technologies are required to use wood for the production of bioenergy or bio-based products. There have been many studies on various conversion technologies, including acid hydrolysis, enzymatic saccharification, hot-compressed water treatment, supercritical fluid treatment and pyrolysis .

Recently, treatment of wood with ionic liquids has been reported as one of the most promising new conversion technologies for biomass. Ionic liquids are organic salts that have melting points close to ambient temperature. These liquids have many notable characteristics, such as negligible vapor pressure, thermal stability, recyclability, and non-flammability. Some ionic liquids can dissolve cellulose, and there have been several reports on applications of ionic liquids to liquefy wood.

 

Flow Diagrams

lw1
(Source: http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0032591007000903-gr20.jpg)

 

lw2
(Source: http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0960852412014733-gr1.jpg)

 

Equipment

Slurry pump
High pressure pump
Pre-heater
Reactor
Cooler
Distributor

 

Videos

 

References

  1. http://www.intechopen.com/books/ionic-liquids-new-aspects-for-the-future/liquefaction-of-wood-by-ionic-liquid-treatment
  2. http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0960852412014733-gr1.jpg
  3. http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0032591007000903-gr20.jpg
  4. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saccharification

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