A kinetic study of sulfuric acid-catalyzed liquefaction of wood into phenol

The powders of monarch birch wood (Betula maximowiczina Regel) were liquefied into phenol using sulfuric acid as a catalyst at various temperatures and reaction times. Typical kinetic parameters of the degrading reaction of wood in the presence of phenol and the acid were determined using typical kinetic models. In addition, the activation parameters of the liquefaction of wood were determined according to transition-state theory. The results of showed percent liquefied wood that about 100% of the wood could be liquefied into phenol at a temperature of 150degreesC for about 2 h. However, about 68% of phenol was found to react mainly with wood components along with sulfuric acid and phenol itself. The kinetic studies showed that the liquefaction of wood into phenol using sulfuric acid obeyed a bimolecular type second-order reaction and Arrhenius law. The activation energy of the liquefaction was 68.5 kJ mol(-1). Furthermore, the findings related with activation enthalpy showed that the liquefaction of wood possessed a primarily endothermic reaction nature.