Experimental Research on Catalytic Esterification of Bio-Oil Volatile Fraction

Carboxylic acids were attributed to the corrosivity of bio-oil and catalytic esterification was carried out to convert carboxylic acids and reduce the bio-oil corrosivity. After upgrading by esterification with propanol on a developed catalyst, the upgraded bio-oil had a higher heating value and lower carboxylic acids content. The carboxylic acids content in the Volatile fraction of Bio-Oil (VBO) was 28.81%, while that in the Upgraded Bio-Oil (UBO) declined to 2.43%. A carboxylic acids conversion of 91.57% was achieved though there was 71.42 wt% water content in VBO. It meant that this modified catalyst had a high catalytic activity and it was also hydrothermal resistant. To demonstrate the superior catalytic activity of the modified catalyst, BET, FT-IR and XRD were performed for catalysts characterization.