Potential of pyrolysis oil from biomass as a source for phenolic resins

Phenolic resin, also known as phenolic formaldehyde resin (PF), is a synthetic resin produced from the polymerization of phenol (an aromatic alcohol derived from benzene) and formaldehyde (a reactive gas derived from methane). Resins have applications from use as laminates to in construction materials such as wood and composite materials. The use of petroleum-based compounds as sources of phenols is limited by the climate change and other environmental impacts associated with petroleum derived products. As such there are increased efforts to use renewable resources for the production of useful polymers or composites. As the only renewable source of fixed carbon biomass is the primary candidate for the production of composites. Converting solid biomass (saw dust, corn stover, wheat straw etc.) to a liquid makes extraction of phenols less intensive from a process perspective. The overall objective of this work is to identify and quantify (where feasible) key compounds in py-oil (derived from wheat) and lignin (extracted using an organosolv process), that could serve as a feedstock for phenolic resins to replace petroleum sources.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kelly Hawboldt

Student:

Partner:

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Program: