Physical and Chemical Stability of Bagasse Biocrude from Liquefaction Stored in Real Conditions

Abstract

The stability of biocrude produced from the liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse in ethanol was observed. The degradation characteristics of biocrude and reference fuels, such as diesel, waste cooking oil biodiesel, and their blends, were studied under three different storage environments and temperatures over 24 weeks, namely, hot (43 °C), cold (4 °C), and outdoor (variable temperature) conditions. Higher Heating Values of biocrude had only small changes for all storage conditions, and this was similar to the behavior of the reference fuels. Density changes were significant in hot conditions for biocrude oil compared with outdoor and cold conditions. The change in chemical composition reflects changes in densities. Upon different storage conditions, the chemical composition of waste cooking oil biodiesel and biocrude changed considerably over the time period, whereas diesel and biodiesel blend B20 remained relatively stable. The instability of the biocrude was mainly due to oxygenated compounds, especially phenols forming cyclic and aromatic compounds. The degradation rate of biocrude was the slowest in cold conditions.