Hydrothermal Liquefaction of an Animal Carcass for Biocrude Oil

This study investigated the optimum operating conditions on hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) for the production of biocrude oil from an animal carcass. HTL experiments were carried out at various reaction temperatures (230-350 °C), residence times (10-80 min), solid concentrations (5-20 wt %), and pressures (15-30 MPa). Detailed chemical composition analysis of biocrude oil was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis, and element analysis. The results showed that the biocrude oil was composed of fatty acids, hydrocarbons, amides, esters, and N-heterocyclic compounds. The maximum biocrude oil yield of 55.6 wt % was obtained at 320 °C and 10 wt % solid concentration for a residence time of 60 min. Pressure imparts little on the yield of biocrude oil. The higher heating value of the biocrude oil ranging from 39.7 to 42.5 MJ kg^-1 was comparable to that of petroleum crude (42.9 MJ kg^-1). In addition, the general reaction pathways for HTL of an animal carcass were proposed. The results of this study demonstrated that HTL is a promising method for disposal of an animal carcass for the production of biocrude oil.