Elastomer and Plastic Compatibility with a Pyrolysis-derived Bio-oil

Abstract

The compatibility of fueling infrastructure elastomers and plastics in bio-oil and diesel fuel was determined by measuring the volume swell. The bio-oil was produced via fast pyrolysis of woody feedstocks. The elastomer materials included fluorocarbons, acrylonitrile butadiene rubbers, neoprene, polyurethane, neoprene, styrene butadiene (SBR) and silicone. The plastic materials included polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyoxymethylene (POM), POM copolymer, high density polyethylene (HDPE), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), polythiourea (PTU), four nylon grades, and four thermosetting resins. The majority of the elastomer and plastic materials exhibited higher volume expansion in bio-oil than in diesel. These elastomers and plastics had high polarity values which more closely align with the polarities of the bio-oil versus the diesel fuel. Conversely, SBR, silicone, HDPE, and PP are relatively nonpolar and this matches the low polarity of the diesel fuel, which resulted in higher volume expansion in diesel, rather than the bio-oil for these four polymers.