Direct Biomass Liquefaction by an Extruder-Feeder System

A new type of extruder-feeder to a reactor system has been developed* designed and experimentally-tested for direct biomass liquifaction under high temperatures and high pressure conditions. Solid form mixtures of up to 50 wt % wood flour in carrier oils were pumped into a reactor system of up to 430°C temperature using a single screw extruder and producing pressures of up to 20.7 KPa in the reactor. Wood oil distillates with oxygen content in the range of 5–12 wt % were obtained from the reaction of Birch wood flour which contains 41.3 wt % of oxygen. This results in a crude wood oil with a heating value of about 9,000 Kcal/kg, compared to about 4,500 Kcal/kg for the wood. Details on the liquefaction process, the experimental facility and its performance, the experimental procedure and operational data and the analytical results of the feedstock and products are given.