Preliminary Studies on the Electrochemical Conversion of Liquefied Forest Biomass

Bio-oils produced from three different biomass sources, namely cork, pinewood, and olive stones, are evaluated concerning their suitability and prospects of including their electrochemical transformations in a biorefinery scenario for the production of added-value compounds. Different types and concentrations of electrolytes (e.g., H2SO4, KOH) are added to the bio-oils to increase the samples’ initially low ionic conductivity. The samples prepared by mixing bio-oil with 2 M KOH aqueous solution (50 vol.%) lead to a stable and homogeneous bio-oil alkaline emulsion suitable for electrochemical studies. The bio-oil samples are characterized by physicochemical methods (e.g., density, viscosity, conductivity), followed by analyzing their electrochemical behavior by voltammetric and chronoamperometric studies. The organics electrooxidation and the hydrogen evolution reaction in the bio-oils are assessed using Pt electrodes. Single- and two-compartment cell laboratory bio-oil electrolyzers are assembled using nickel plate electrodes. Electrolysis is carried out at 2.5 V for 24 h. Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry are applied to identify possible changes in the bio-oil samples’ chemical structure during the electrolysis experiments. Comparing the analyses of the bio-oil samples subjected to electrolysis with the blank samples demonstrates that bulk electrolysis significantly changes the bio-oil composition. The bio-oil obtained from cork biomass shows the most promising results, but further studies are required to understand the nature of the actual changes.