Comprehensive Characterization of Second-Generation Biofuel from Invasive Freshwater Plants by FT-ICR MS

Abstract

Ultra-high resolution and mass accuracy Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) with an electrospray ionization source (ESI) was applied to characterize the bio-oils that were obtained using a micropyrolysis process of alternative biomasses from Eichornia crassipes (water hyacinth), Eichornia azurea, and Nymphaea ssp. The methods that have been developed for petroleomic analyses using FT-ICR MS data from crude oils and derivatives have been successfully employed herein to process such data for bio-oils, which are known as second-generation liquid biofuels. Class distributions and DBE versus carbon number plots (DBE × Cn) were, therefore, obtained. The class distribution for the oil obtained from water hyacinth was similar to those of classical bio-oils and appeared to be applicable as a fingerprint for bio-oils in general. The N2 and O2 classes obtained via ESI(+) and the O2 and O3 classes obtained via ESI(−) were the major classes detected in the bio-oil samples. In the DBE x Cn plot of the ESI(−)-FT-ICR MS data, the distribution of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids could be visualized, and characteristic profiles were determined for each bio-oil. It is, therefore, demonstrated that the FT-ICR MS methodology that is commonly applied to petroleomic studies can also be applied to biofuel characterization in a comprehensive “bio-oilomics” approach.