Room: Poster Area
Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Time: 11:30 - 12:45 CEST
Session code 5BV.3
Modeling, fundamental and applied pyrolysis
Integrating Polymer Hydrogels into Bio-Oil Upgrading: A Novel Approach for Water Removal and Fuel Stabilization
Short Introductive summary
During biomass pyrolysis, a significant amount of water is produced due to both intrinsic moisture in the feedstock and dehydration reactions occurring in the vapor phase during pyrolysis. The removal of water from pyrolysis oils is an important step in increasing their quality and utility as renewable fuels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the application of hydrogels for water removal from bio-oil. As an initial exploratory investigation of this technology, a wide range of hydrogel formulations was prepared and tested to assess their efficiency for the proposed application. Thirteen hydrogel formulations, based on synthetic and natural polymers reinforced with adsorbent materials, were successfully synthesized and evaluated. The results revealed that several formulations exhibited significant swelling capacity and water uptake efficiency, indicating their strong affinity for aqueous components in complex bio-oil matrices. The outcomes of this exploratory work confirm that hydrogel-assisted dehydration can be a promising low-energy and sustainable alternative to conventional separation methods, potentially improving the fuel quality.
Presenter
Leonardo Vasconcelos FREGOLENTE
State University of Campinas, Chemical Engineering Dpt., BRAZIL
Presenter's biography
Associate Professor and Vice Dean at the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Campinas, Brazil. He is also Vice-Coordinator of the E-RENOVA EMBRAPII Unit. He previously worked at Petrobras as a Process Engineer and Manager. He previously worked at Petrobras.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
B.R. Estevam, State University of Campinas, BRAZIL
E.B. Cidade, State University of Campinas, BRAZIL
D. Noriler, State University of Campinas, BRAZIL
F. Baron, Delft University of Technology, THE NETHERLANDS
L. Cutz, Delft University of Technology, THE NETHERLANDS
Session reference: 5BV.3.15