Bio-oil derived from the pyrolysis of a sustainable palm biomass has great potential as a suitable replacement to the conventional source of fuels and chemicals. However, the bio-oil produced is highly acidic and corrosive due to presence of acids that can leads to operational difficulties. As such, purification of the bio-oil for the targeted application as chemicals or fuel source needs to be conducted. This study is aimed at conducting further study on the isolation of insoluble fractions (heavy oil) of bio-oil and at the same time assesses the corrosiveness of the insoluble fractions and compare with that of raw bio-oil. This was done in order see whether the corrosive properties of the raw bio-oil are associated with these fractions or not. It was later upgraded using various ratio of zero valence aluminium metal as corrosion inhibitor. The raw bio-oil and the upgraded heavy oil fractions samples were characterized using various techniques. The results indicate significant improvement on the various properties tested on the side of upgraded heavy oil fractions than the raw bio-oil. Thus, realization of bio-oil quality for its subsequent application as fuel can significantly reduce operational difficulties in engines and other processing equipment.
Steam Reforming of Bio-oil Fractions: Effect of Composition and Stability