UPGRADING OF SUGAR-CANE BAGASSE BY THERMAL-PROCESSES .8. DIRECT LIQUEFACTION WITH N-ALCOHOLS

The liquefaction of sugar cane bagasse has been an important approach to produce liquid fuels and chemical feedstocks from biomass. In the p resent work a process has been investigated using a series of n-alcoho ls such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and pentanol as the co nversion media. The liquefaction studies were made in an autoclave con taining the bagasse and the solvent, pressurized with hydrogen (simila r to 70 bar) and heated to 370 degrees C for 60 minutes. The products were fractionated by preparative liquid chromatography in order to stu dy the group-type distribution. The results obtained from liquefaction of sugar cane bagasse by ethanol suggests that this could be a good o ption as an alternative fuel source.