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CHAPTER 7

Hydrocarbons from Biomass


Contents
1. Introduction 241
2. Wood 246
2.1. History 247
2.2. Wood chemistry 253
2.3. Hydrocarbons from wood 256
2.3.1. Hydrocarbons via methanol and ethanol 256
2.3.2. Hydrocarbons from ethanol 258
2.3.3. Hydrocarbons via synthesis gas 260
3. Plants 264
3.1. Isoprenoid hydrocarbons 266
3.2. Waxes 267
3.3. Essential oils 268
3.4. Terpenes 269
3.5. Steroids 272
4. Biomass conversion 275
References 278

1. INTRODUCTION
Biomass is the detritus or remains of living and recently dead biological
material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Biomass also
refers to (1) energy crops grown specifically to be used as fuel, such as fast-
growing trees or switch grass, (2) agricultural residues and by-products, such
as straw, sugarcane fiber, and rice hulls, and (3) residues from forestry,
construction, and other wood-processing industries (NREL, 2003).
Biomass is a renewable energy source unlike other resources such as
petroleum, natural gas, tar sand, coal, and oil shale. Agricultural products
specifically grown for biofuel production include crops such as corn,
soybeans, rapeseed, wheat, sugar beet, sugar cane, palm oil, and Jatropha oil,
as well as wood.
Biofuel is derived from biomass and has the potential to produce fuels that
are more environmentally benign than petroleum-based fuels (Speight,
2008 and references cited therein). In addition, ethanol, a crop-based fuel
alcohol (Chapters 8 and 9), adds oxygen to gasoline thereby helping to

Handbook of Industrial Hydrocarbon Processes Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc.


ISBN 978-0-7506-8632-7, doi:10.1016/B978-0-7506-8632-7.10007-6 All rights reserved. 241 j

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