Conversion of Oil Palm Biomass to Bio-oil Under Sub- and Supercritical Conditions

In this study, the production of bio-oil from oil palm biomass (empty fruit bunch and mesocarp fiber) under sub- and supercritical liquefaction are investigated under various sub-/supercritical temperatures of water (360, 390 or 450 °C) and pressures (25, 30 or 35 MPa). It is found that the optimum liquefaction conditions for the two types of biomass using water are at supercritical conditions, with EFB and PMF yielding 37.4 wt% and 39.7 wt% at temperatures of 390 °C and 450 °C respectively.