Subcritical water liquefaction of oil palm fruit press fiber for the production of bio-oil: effect of catalysts

Decomposition of oil palm fruit press fiber (FPF) to various liquid products in subcritical water was investigated using a high-pressure autoclave reactor with and without the presence of catalyst. When the reaction was carried in the absence of catalyst, the conversion of solid to liquid products increased from 54.9% at 483 K to 75.8% at 603 K. Simultaneously, the liquid yield increased from 28.8% to 39.1%. The liquid products were sub-categorized to bio-oil (benzene soluble, diethylether soluble, acetone soluble) and water soluble. When 10% ZnCl(2) was added, the conversion increased slightly but gaseous products increased significantly. However, when 10% Na(2)CO(3) and 10% NaOH were added independently, the solid conversion increased to almost 90%. In the presence of catalyst, the liquid products were mainly bio-oil compounds. Although solid conversion increased at higher reaction temperature, but the liquid yield did not increase at higher temperature.