Mass Spectrometry as a Tool in Biofuel Research

Wood-based bio-oil holds great promise as a source of low-carbon biofuel with less sulfur and nitrogen oxides. However, converting these bio-oils into more highly refined products is faced with many challenges. In-depth knowledge and research on the chemical composition of bio-oils are imperative to address these challenges. High-resolution mass spectrometry is an advanced analytical technique that could very well be the tool for chemical composition analysis for these bio-oils, as revealed in a recent research funded by the Academy of Finland.

Bio-oil is produced through a process known as pyrolysis, which involves heating biomass in the absence of oxygen at a high temperature. The research team has already studied bio-oils from biomass sources such as pine, birch and willow. A high-resolution mass spectrometry technique, the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) was found to be very effective in identifying wood extracts, such as fatty and resin acids as well as degradation products of sugars and lignin. It also captures how the bio-oils from biomass sources transform throughout the refining process.

Professor Janne Jänishe of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Eastern Finland explained that knowledge of the chemical composition of these bio-oils would make it easier to upgrade them in the future.