Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) wood powder was liquefied in phenol using hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a catalyst and the influence of various process variables on liquefaction efficiency was studied. Experiments were carried out to study the effect of temperature, liquid ratio (phenol to wood ratio) and catalyst content on liquefaction efficiency. Liquefaction efficiency of 49% to 82% was achieved under different reaction conditions. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the main effect of all the factors and interaction effect of the linear component of liquid ratio and the quadratic component of catalyst content are significant on liquefaction efficiency at the 5% level of significance. Based on the ANOVA, a non-linear regression equation was obtained to predict the liquefaction efficiency for rubber wood meal at a given experimental condition (temperature, liquid ratio and catalyst content). The liquefaction efficiency was found to be more sensitive at the lower levels of factors. There was no significant increase in liquefaction efficiency above 120°C at any liquid ratio. The residual contents after liquefaction were characterised by FTIR spectroscopy. The spectra of the residual content indicated a complete dissolution of lignin and hemicellulose leaving some cellulosic part of wood as a residual.
AcemiogluB. and AmlaM.H., 2002. Kinetics of wood phenolysis in the presence of HC1 as catalyst. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 64(2), pp 1098–1103.
2.
AlmaM.H. and AcemiogluB., 2004. A kinetic study of sulfuric acid-catalyzed liquefaction of wood into phenol. Chemical Engineering Communications. 191(7), pp 968–980.
3.
AlmaM.H., YoshiokaM., YaoY., and ShiraishiN., 1995. Preparation and characterization of the phenolated wood using hydrochloric acid (HC1) as a catalyst. Wood Science and Technology. 29, pp 39–47.
4.
AlmaM.H., YoshiokaM., YaoY., and ShiraishiN., 1996. Phenolation of wood using oxalic acid as a catalyst: Effects of temperature and hydrochloric acid addition. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 61(4), pp 675–683.
5.
AppellH., FuY., IlligE., SteffgenF and MillerR., 1971. Conversion of cellulosic waste to oil. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations.Pittsburgh Energy Research Centre, Pittsburgh.
6.
HonD.N. S. and ShiraishiN., 1990. Wood and cellulosic chemistry, Marcel Dekker Inc. New York.
7.
LinL, YoshiokaM, YaoY. and ShiraishiN., 1994. Liquefaction of wood in the presence of phenol using phosphoric acid as a catalyst and the flow properties of the liquefied wood. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 52, pp 1629–1636.
8.
ShiraishiN. and KishiH., 1986.Wood-phenol adhesives prepared from carboxymethylated wood-I. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 32, pp 3189–3209.
9.
ShiraishiN, OnoderaS., OhtaniM. and MasumotoT., 1985. Dissolution of esterified wood into polyhydric alcohols or bisphenol A and their application in preparing wooden polymeric materials. Mokuzai Gakkaishi. 34, pp 418–420.
10.
YamadaT. and OnoH., 1999. Rapid liquefaction of lignocellulosic waste by using ethylene carbonate. Bioresource Technology. 70, pp 61–67.
11.
YoshiokaM., YaoY. and ShiraishiN., 1996. Chemical Modification of Lignocellulosic materials, edited by HonDavid N - S., Marcel Dekker Inc. New York. pp 185.
