Characterization of the anhydrosugar content in pyrolysis liquids with column chromatography and iodometric titration

Abstract

Since cellulose and hemicelluloses along with lignin are the main components of biomass, fast pyrolysis of wood yields a complex mixture of products, among which sugars and anhydrosugars are one of the most abundant and valuable components. Because of the presence of high molecular compounds, this sugar mixture of pyrolysis products has proven to be difficult to analyze. In this study, research has been done to improve the characterization of pyrolysis liquids by sample separation on an ion exchange resin. In order to characterize the pyrolysis liquids, an iodometric titration method is used to determine sugar and anhydrosugar content in the pyrolysis liquids with and without sample separation on an ion exchange column.