Comparison of the Fluorescence Behavior of a Biocrude Oil and Crude Petroleum Oils

• Published in: Energy & fuels 2006-03, Vol.20 (2), p.783-785
• Main Authors: Sarma, A. K, Ryder, A. G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biomass; Constitution and properties of crude oils, shale oils, natural gas and bitumens. Analysis and characteristics; Crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Fuels; Natural energy
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/ef050294f

The production and characterization of biocrude and petroleum like products from natural, renewable resources such as oil-bearing plant seeds is an interesting area of research at the moment. The present article discusses the results of a comparative fluorescence study in relation to the composition of a biocrude with petroleum crude oil of Assam, India (Assam-A), and some other crude oils around the world. It has been observed that biocrude has a very different lifetime-wavelength plot when compared to that of Assam-A and other petroleum crude oils. Although biocrude has a normalized lifetime-wavelength profile similar to that found in light crude petroleum oils, the magnitude of the lifetimes are dramatically reduced by the presence of a high concentration of polar compounds (∼16.11%). The study of TSFS plots shows that Assam-A has a profile similar to most light-medium crude oils, but the biocrude plot is totally different from any of the crude oils for which we have TSFS data. This indicates that the biocrudes have a radically different distribution compared to crude oils. This might also explain the "pinch point" of the biocrude at an excitation wavelength below ∼300 nm.