Classification of biomass through their pyrolytic bio-oil composition using FTIR and PCA analysis

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, combined to principal components analysis (PCA), was applied in the classification of biomasses through the composition of their bio-oil. Bio-oils were produced through pyrolysis in a bed fixed reactor, using fifteen biomass sources available in Brazil and its characterization was made using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometric detector (GC/qMS). Around two hundred compounds were tentatively identified in the fifteen bio-oil samples. As expected, the chemical compositions in each bio-oil were distinct. Through the chromatographic information and PCA of the FTIR spectra it was possible observed the similarity and dissimilarity of biomasses according their bio-oil compositions. PCA revealed that FTIR spectra of biomasses fell into three different groups representing distinct bio-oil chemical compositions. The biomasses that belong to group 1 showed bio-oil compositions rich in carboxylic acids, the group 2 showed bio-oil compositions consisting predominantly of phenols and group 3 showed bio-oils with a significant amount of nitrogen compounds. Such clustering information allow exploring bio-oil quality prior to pyrolysis process.