Production of bio-oil with low contents of copper and chlorine by fast pyrolysis of alkaline copper quaternary-treated wood in a fluidized bed reactor

Fast pyrolysis of ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary)-treated wood was carried out in a bench-scale pyrolysis plant equipped with a fluidized bed reactor and char separation system. This study focused on the production of a bio-oil with low copper and chlorine contents, especially by adopting the fractional condensation of bio-oil using water condensers, an impact separator and an electrostatic precipitator. In addition, various analytical tools were applied to investigate the physicochemical properties of the pyrolysis products and the behavior of the preservative during pyrolysis. The bio-oil yield was maximized at 63.7 wt% at a pyrolysis temperature of 411 °C. Highly water-soluble holocellulose-derived components such as acetic acid and hydroxyacetone were mainly collected by the condensers, while lignin-derived components and levoglucosan were mainly observed in the oils collected by the impact separator and electrostatic precipitator. All the bio-oils produced in the experiments were almost free of copper and chlorine. Most copper in ACQ was transferred into the char.