Characterization of phenolic compounds contained in bio-oil stemming from agricultural biomass wastes

Abstract

Bio-oil is produced by biomass pyrolysis. It contains hundreds of chemical compounds including alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, ethers, ketones, aldehydes, acids, alcohols, and phenols. Phenols are compounds of increasing interest; they can be used as feedstock in many industrial applications such as the production of fuel additives, chemical synthesis, or as food antioxidants. Therefore, the valorization of phenols stemming from bio-oil can be an appropriated alternative to reduce the dependence on petro-based phenols in the chemical industry. The most important phenols in biooil from agricultural wastes are phenol, guaiacol, cresols, syringol, and xylenol. These compounds were separated by silica gel column chromatography technique, using 3 different solvents: a dichloromethane—acetone mixture, ethyl acetate, and methanol. Column elution was followed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Phenolic fraction was obtained and not individual phenols. This fraction was analyzed using gas chromatography–f...