Catalytic Cracking of Pinus roxburghii Resin for Liquid Fuels.

The development of alternative sources for energy and chemicals, particularly the use of plant biomass as a renewable resource for fuel or chemical feed stocks, has received much recent attention. The resin (biocrude) obtained fromPinus roxburghii, a resinous tree, was investigated as a potential source for liquid fuels in a fluidized bed reactor. The feed was studied for yield conversion data under different catalysts to feed ratio at different temperatures. High conversions of biocrude to liquid fuels were observed with maximum middle distillates selectivity at a catalyst/oil ratio of 1.8 and reaction temperature of 460°C. Gas chromatography analysis results indicated that the middle distillates obtained by catalytic cracking ofP. roxburghiibiocrude has a normal distribution of carbon number with high values from C10–C18carbon atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]