What question did researchers ask and why?
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The world’s petroleum reserves won’t last forever, and their use for fuel increases greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Renewable biomass is a promising alternative to petroleum-based products as a source for bioenergy and other bioproducts, such as value-added chemicals and food additives.
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MNR commissioned the construction of a prototype portable fast pyrolysis unit to find out whether bio-oil could be successfully produced and stored. MNR was also interested in finding out which potential value-added chemicals this bio-oil contained and how useful they might be.
What did they do?
In November 2009, Penguin ASI tested the MNR biorefinery and produced a batch of bio-oil using red oak sawdust. Researchers with MNR’s Ontario Forest Research Institute stored samples of the bio-oil and analyzed them in 2010 and 2011 to learn which chemicals it contained and how well it stored over time. They also reviewed the scientific literature to determine potential uses for the chemicals.
What did they learn?
- They found that bio-oil could be generated in rural areas, transported to a biorefinery, and stored under proper conditions for 2 years before processing without significant chemical changes.
- Their biochemical analyses showed that the bio-oil from MNR’s pyrolysis unit is similar to other bio-oil from biomass, containing mostly oxygenated species (chemically reactive molecules that contain oxygen) such as phenols, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, and carboxylic acids.
- Their literature review showed that the compounds resulting from biomass pyrolysis offer many opportunities, especially since bio-oil is nearly carbon neutral, but it is not yet economical to use as fuel. The only 2 products from bio-oil sold commercially for a profit are liquid smoke and condensed natural smoke. Other compounds could be used to make biopolymers, adhesives, solvents, lubricants, resins, and drugs. Two key challenges to producing bioproducts from bio-oil are:
- The lack of efficient, cost-effective production processes and technology. Researchers in other jurisdictions are studying how to improve these.
- Biomass tends to be spread across rural areas, making harvest and transportation to biorefineries expensive. Portable biorefineries such as the one MNR commissioned (now owned by Laurentian University) could be useful.
Who can use these research results?
Those involved in forest management policymaking or planning, forest industry staff, and researchers who are studying the bioeconomy.
Where to get more information:
- See A Prototype Portable Biomass Pyrolysis Unit and Its Potential to Produce Value-Added Chemicals and Fuel (Forest Research Note No. 72), available from OFRI.
- Contact Tom Noland at OFRI. Joe Maure of MNR’s Innovation and Market Development Section and former OFRI Summer Experience Student Meghan Garside were also involved in this work.
Did you know...? Facts about wood-based bio-oil
Bio-oil:
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| The oldest known commercial product from wood bio-oil is Liquid Smoke, which is used to give food a smoky flavour without actually having to smoke it. |
- is a liquid fuel that looks a bit like dark-amber maple syrup
- is produced from biomass using a high heat through a process known as pyrolysis
- can be produced using various plant materials; for Tom Noland's research, red oak sawdust was used
- has two key advantages over fossil fuels: it is a renewable energy source and is nearly carbon neutral
- contains more than 300 organic compounds, which could be useful for making many kinds of products, such as:
- rubber tires and other rubber products
- biopolymers (used to make food and other packaging, a diversity of plastic products from toys to toilet seats, etc.)
- adhesives (for example, to glue wood bits together to create oriented strandboard)
- solvents
- detergent enhancers
- fabrics such as nylon, Kevlar, and carpet
- pesticides
- medicines
- synthetic oil
- aviation fuel
The only 2 products from bio-oil sold commercially for a profit are liquid smoke and condensed natural smoke. Liquid smoke is used to give food a smoky flavour without actually having to smoke it. It was discovered by a teenager named Ernest C. Wright, who while working in a print shop noticed black liquid dripping from a stovepipe. He later become a pharmacist in Kansas City, Missouri, and figured out how to collect and bottle this liquid, first selling it as a flavouring in 1895. Read more about the history of Liquid Smoke here.
