Liquefaction of sawdust for liquid fuel

Pressurized liquefaction of sawdust was carried out in an autoclave in the presence of solvent under cold hydrogen pressure ranging from 2.0 to 5.5 MPa at the temperature range of 150C-450 degrees C. The reaction time varied from 5 to 30 min. Investigations were made on the effects of temperature, reaction time, cold hydrogen pressure and solvent on the liquefaction process. Results indicate that liquefaction of sawdust can start at a temperature of 200 degrees C, much lower than that for coal in a hydrogen-donor solvent, e.g., tetralin which was used in this run of experiment. Oil yield increase with the rise either in temperature and in cold hydrogen pressure or with the longer reaction time. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.