Abstract

Bio-oil is a renewable fuel source with the potential to replace fossil fuels. Characterization of the composition of bio-oil is of interest to many scientists. Bio-oil is composed of hundreds of molecules making characterization a difficult and time consuming task. Various methods have been investigated as viable methods for separation and characterization. In this work, UV-Vis Spectroscopy is utilized to investigate the aromatic content of various bio-oils. Standard addition is method where a known amount of standard is added to a sample of interest. Using the Beer-Lambert law, the graph can be extrapolated to quantify the amount of target compound in a mixture. Results indicate this method is a viable strategy for quantifying target compounds and provides preliminary quantitative data on the aromatic content of bio-oils tested.

Mentor

Asanga Padmaperuma

Lab site

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

Funding Acknowledgement

The 2018 STEM Teacher and Researcher Program and this project have been made possible through support from Chevron (www.chevron.com), the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (www.marinesanctuary.org), the National Science Foundation through the Robert Noyce Program under Grant #1836335 and 1340110, the California State University Office of the Chancellor, and California Polytechnic State University in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.

Share

COinS
 

URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/star/509

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.