Pretreated hemp shives: Possibilities of conversion into levoglucosan and levoglucosenone

Abstract This study aims to evaluate the possibilities of the production of anhydrosugar rich bio-oil by fast pyrolysis. Industrial hemp ( Cannabis sativa L.) shives were used as the raw material for the study. Hemicelluloses were converted to furfural by catalytic hydrothermal pretreatment, while the left-over lignocellulose (LC) was subjected to analytical pyrolysis. The impact of the pretreatment time and temperature on the relative contents of LC pyrolysis products – levoglucosan (LG) and levoglucosenone (LGO) – at 350, 400 and 500 °C was investigated. The cellulose structural composition of the left-over LC fraction was analyzed. Results demonstrate that the H 2 O washed and unwashed LC residue after pretreatment using Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ·18H 2 O as a catalyst can be used as a feedstock for the production of LG or LGO (up to 38 area% and 24.3 area% content from the detected volatile products by fast pyrolysis, respectively).