Characterization of Slow Pyrolysis Products of Macaranga motleyana: Effect of Sample Size

Abstract

The characterization of biocrude oil produced by slow pyrolysis of fast growing wood Macaranga motleyana has been conducted. Slow pyrolysis was carried out in a fixed bed pyrolysis reactor at 500 oC for 1 hour with a variety of wood sample size. The decrease of a sample size from 20 to 40 mesh resulted in an increased in the percent yields of liquid product, which were 28.5 wt.% and 36.1 wt.%, respectively. Characterization of the biocrude oil showed that the pH of the biocrude oil was 2, the density of biocrude oil was 1.132 g/mL, while the viscosity value of the biocrude oil was 53.6 cSt. Analyses of the biocrude oil using a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that the biocrude oil derived from Macaranga motleyana wood contained phenol and its derivatives, such as eugenol and compounds resulted from thermal degradation of cellulose or hemicellulose. The use of sample with a smaller sample size resulted in biocrude oil containing more chemical compounds.