Experiments with wet algal biomass are very useful for understanding how the yields and compositions of different product fractions (e.g., crude bio-oil, aqueous phase products, gaseous products, solid products) vary with hydrothermal processing conditions.  Such data can be used to develop phenomenological kinetics models that have utility for process design and optimization.  Such data provide little insight into the details about the chemistry that occurs, however.  To elucidate some of these details, we have completed several studies with simpler organic molecules that mimic the structural features and functional groups present in microalgae and/or crude algal bio-oil from hydrothermal liquefaction.  This presentation will provide results from experimental and modeling studies related to the hydrothermal reactions of phytol, ethyl oleate, phenylalanine, and a model phospholipid under typical liquefaction conditions.  We will also present results from the hydrothermal catalytic reactions of benzofuran that lead to removal of the oxygen atom and production of a hydrocarbon product stream.

Insights from model compound studies into hydrothermal production of hydrocarbons from algae

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.