Diols as Solvent Media for Liquefaction of Corn Stalk at Ambient Pressure

The proper selection of solvents is important during liquefaction of biomass process to produce fuel additives and valuable chemicals. In this study, novel low-cost liquefying agents such 1,2-propanediol (PG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and 1,4-butanediol (BDO), as well as the traditional liquefying agent, ethylene glycol (EG), were used. It was found that the liquefaction yield of corn stalk in the presence of PG at the optimum temperature of 180 °C was up to 99.2%, which was higher than that of the other three liquefying agents. The main components and functional groups of bio-oil with an acid catalyst were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The chief constituents of bio-oil were complex, and corn stalk could be effectively degraded with PG liquefaction. Moreover, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data also revealed that the fiber structure of the liquefied corn stalk was destroyed and essentially liquefied during PG liquefaction. Consequently, all the results in the study successfully confirmed that PG can provide an efficient and environmental process for generating bio-oil from lignocellulosic mass at a low cost in liquefaction of corn stalk.