Bio-oil production method

1. A method for producing a bio-oil from lignocellulosic matter, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) solvating hemicellulose from the lignocellulosic matter using a solvent;

(b) removing solvated hemicellulose from solid matter comprising lignin and cellulose remaining after step (a); and

(c) solvating both of the lignin and the cellulose of the solid matter together using a solvent at a reaction temperature of between 260° C. and 350° C. and a reaction pressure of between 8 MPa and 26 MPa,

wherein step (c) of solvating both of the lignin and the cellulose together at said reaction temperature and said reaction pressure converts the lignin and the cellulose into a product comprising an aqueous phase and an oil phase comprising the bio-oil; and

wherein the bio-oil is produced in the absence of fermentation or enzymatic hydrolysis of said lignocellulosic matter.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said lignocellulosic matter comprises 10%-35% hemicellulose, 15%-45% cellulose and 2%-35% lignin.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said lignocellulosic matter comprises 20%-35% hemicellulose, 20%-45% cellulose and 20%-35% lignin.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the solvent of step (c) is an aqueous alcohol comprising no more than ten carbon atoms.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the aqueous alcohol is ethanol or methanol.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the aqueous alcohol comprises 1%-30% alcohol by weight.

7. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the aqueous alcohol comprises about 20% alcohol by weight.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (c) is performed at a reaction temperature of between 280° C. and 350° C.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (c) is performed at a temperature of about 320° C.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (c) is performed at a reaction pressure of between 12 MPa and 24 MPa.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (c) is performed at a reaction pressure of about 20 MPa.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the lignin and cellulose of step (c) is in the form of a slurry comprising between 2% and 45% solid matter by weight.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the slurry comprises about 10% solid matter by weight.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (c) is performed for between 2 minutes and 60 minutes.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (c) is performed for between 5 minutes and 30 minutes.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the solvating of hemicellulose in step (a) is performed at a reaction temperature of between 100° C. and 250° C., and a reaction pressure of between 0.2 MPa and 5 MPa.

17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the solvent of step (a) is:

(i) an aqueous acid and the treatment is performed at a pH of below about 6.5;

(ii) an aqueous base and the treatment is performed at a pH of above about 7.5; or

(iii) water.

18. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising pre-treating the lignocellulosic matter prior to solvating hemicellulose in step (a), wherein the pre-treating comprises producing a slurry comprising a mixture of a solvent and particles derived from the lignocellulosic matter.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein said particles are between about 100 microns and about 1000 microns in size.

20. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the slurry comprises between about 5% and about 20% lignocellulosic matter.

21. A method for producing a bio-oil from lignocellulosic matter, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) solvating hemicellulose from the lignocellulosic matter using a solvent;

(b) removing solvated hemicellulose from solid matter remaining after step (a); and

(c) solvating a slurry comprising between 2% and 45% solid matter by weight and comprising lignin and cellulose obtained from the material obtained in step (b) using a solvent at a reaction temperature of between 260° C. and 350° C. and a reaction pressure of between 8 MPa and 26 MPa to produce a bio-oil;

wherein the lignin and cellulose are solvated together at said reaction pressure and temperature thereby converting the lignin and the cellulose into the bio-oil, and the method does not comprise enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce sugar units and fermentation of the sugar units by a microorganism to provide a bio-alcohol.