Pyrolysis of Tall Oil-Derived Fatty and Resin Acid Mixtures

Neutralised mixtures of tall oil-derived fatty acids and resin acids were separately pyrolysed (at 750∘C for 20 s) by pyrolysis gas chromatography with mass-selective and flame ionisation detection (Py-GC/MSD/FID) to clarify their thermochemical behaviour. The pyrolysate of fatty acid salts characteristically contained high amounts of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons and minor amounts of monoaromatics, whereas the pyrolysis of resin acid salts mainly resulted in the formation of aromatics with up to three benzene rings and only in very low amounts of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The data obtained are useful when considering the suitability of various tall oil products containing fatty and resin acid fractions for the production of biofuels and chemicals via pyrolysis.