Characterization of bio-oil from hydrothermal liquefaction of organic waste by NMR and FTICR mass spectrometry

"Solid wastes of organic origins are potential feedstocks for the. production of liquid biofuels, which could be suitable alternatives. to fossil fuels for the transport and heating sectors, as. well as for industrial use. By hydrothermal liquefaction, the wet. biomass is partially transformed into a water-immiscible, oillike. organic matter called bio-oil. In this study, an integrated. NMR spectroscopy\/mass spectrometry approach has been developed. for the characterization of the hydrothermal liquefaction. of bio-oil at the molecular level. 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. were used for the identification of functional groups and. gauging the aromatic carbon content in the mixture. GC–MS. analysis revealed that the volatile fraction was rich in fatty. acids, as well as in amides and esters. High-resolution Fouriertransform. ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICRMS). has been applied in a systematic way to fully categorize. the bio-oil in terms of different classes of components, according. to their molecular formulas. Most importantly, for the first. time, by using this technique, and for the liquefaction bio-oil. characterization in particular, FT-MS data have been used to. develop a methodology for the determination of the aromatic. versus aliphatic carbon and nitrogen content. It is well known. that, because they resist hydrogenation and represent sources. of polluting species, both aromatic molecules and nitrogencontaining. species raise concerns for subsequent upgrading of. bio-oil into a diesel-like fuel."