Comparative study on characteristics of the bio-oil from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of lignocellulose and triacylglycerol

Abstract Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of Camellia oleifera shell (COS) and stillingia oil (SO) was performed in the temperature range of 400–600 °C. The effects of feedstock and pyrolysis temperatures on product yield and bio-oil composition were discussed in detail. The bio-oil yield from COS pyrolysis varied from 37.30 wt% to 40.27 wt%, which was 11.32 wt% to 21.62 wt% lower than that from SO pyrolysis. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis indicated that SO bio-oil was rich in hydrocarbons, whereas COS pyrolysis produced mainly oxygen-containing compounds predominantly comprising phenols and acids. Fourier transform infrared and 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra showed significant differences in the chemical structure of bio-oils from COS and SO pyrolysis. Elemental-composition and physical-property analyses further revealed that SO bio-oils were similar to gasoline and heavy fuel oil.