Petroleomic Analysis of Bio-oils from the Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass: Laser Desorption Ionization−Linear Ion Trap−Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry Approach

Fast pyrolysis of biomass produces bio-oils that can be upgraded into biofuels. Despite similar physical properties to petroleum, the chemical properties of bio-oils are quite different and their chemical compositions, particularly those of non-volatile compounds, are not well-known. Here, we report the first time attempt at analyzing bio-oils using high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS), which employed laser desorption ionization−linear ion trap−Orbitrap MS. Besides a few limitations, we could determine chemical compositions for over 100 molecular compounds in a bio-oil sample produced from the pyrolysis of a loblolly pine tree. These compounds consist of 3−6 oxygens and 9−17 double-bond equivalents (DBEs). Among those, O 4 compounds with a DBE of 9−13 were most abundant. Unlike petroleum oils, the lack of nearby molecules within a ±2 Da mass window for major components enabled clear isolation of precursor ions for subsequent MS/MS structural investigations. Petroleomic analysis and a comparison to low-mass components in hydrolytic lignin suggest that they are dimers and trimers of depolymerized lignin.