Hill, JosephineBonatti, Erika2024-12-182024-12-182024-12-13Bonatti, E. (2024). Investigating the impact of bio-oil components in esterification upgrading (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120227Bio-oil, an organic liquid derived from biomass pyrolysis, shows promise as a sustainable fuel but faces limitations due to its low energy density, corrosiveness, and low stability. Upgrading technologies to improve bio-oil properties exist, but the impact of its constituents during these processes is not well understood. Hence, this study evaluates the impact of phenol and furfural on the performance of solid acid catalysts during acetic acid and methanol esterification. The acid conversion over three different catalysts was examined. Phenol effect on esterification over Amberlyst-15 was evaluated in detail, including kinetic studies and catalyst structural modifications. The presence of phenol led to a decrease in catalyst performance due to their adsorption on the same sites as acetic acid over the Amberlyst-15 structure. The work emphasized how phenol and other bio-oil components could inhibit solid acid catalysts during bio-oil upgrading, offering valuable insights for the upgrading processes.enUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.bio-oilesterificationupgradingsolid acid catalystsadsorptionEducation--SciencesEngineering--ChemicalEngineering--Environmentalmaster thesis