A Physico-Chemical Comparison off KiOR “Residual Oils (Lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C20-40-

Branched, Cyclic and Linear” with Fossil Fuel Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) 

KiOR “Residual Oils (Lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C20-40-Branched, Cyclic and Linear”: 

Conventional fast pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose by heating 

in the absence of oxygen at more than 500 °C. Under appropriate pyrolysis operation conditions, biomass 

can be converted to relatively high yields (~70 wt %) of liquids—a mixture of organic compounds 

(pyrolysis oil) and water. The pyrolysis oils are oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds that result from the 

thermal breakdown of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Collectively, pyrolysis oil comprises a complex 

mixture of acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, sugars, phenols, furans, and multifunctional 

compounds such as hydroxyacetaldehyde. The relative amounts of each compound class can vary 

depending on the biomass feedstock used and the operating conditions employed during pyrolysis. 

The proprietary KiOR process is unique. It combines the pyrolysis described above with a proprietary 

catalyst and conventional fluid catalytic cracking technology. This process catalytically converts lignin, 

cellulose and hemicellulose. Hydrotreating further converts the products of conventional pyrolysis to a 

hydrotreated renewable crude analog, “paraffin waxes (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C5-40-branched, 

cyclic and linear”, that is a high-quality oil substitute less corrosive and with lower oxygen content 

compared to other bio-based oils. It may be refined using conventional distillation technology. Once 

refined, the distillation cuts are comparable to their fossil fuel based counterparts and can easily be 

blended with the existing fuel supply. 

KiOR residual oil is a hydrocarbon cut of the KiOR crude analog, “paraffin waxes (lignocellulosic), 

hydrotreated, C5-40-branched, cyclic and linear”. 

KiOR “residual oils (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C20-40-branched, cyclic and linear” is 

indistinguishable in performance from its fossil fuel counterparts. 

See the infrared comparison of KiOR “residual oils (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C20-40-branched, 

cyclic and linear” with fossil-fuel vacuum gas oil (VGO) (Figure 1). 

Comparison of KiOR “Residual Oils (Lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C20-40-Branched, Cyclic and 

Linear” with its Fossil Fuel Analog: 

KiOR “residual oils (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C20-40-branched, cyclic and linear” 

1. CAS Number: 1267611-71-1 

2. CAS Description: “The distillation residue obtained from the thermocatalytic conversion of a 

lignocellulosic feedstock followed by hydrotreatment and atmospheric distillation. It consists 

predominantly of branched, cyclic and linear aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons 

having carbon numbers in the range of C20 to C40 and boiling at approximately greater than 

343°C (650°F).” 
Fossil Fuel Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) 

1. CAS Number: 68478-17-1 (Represented in the attached High Production Volume (HPV) 

Chemical Challenge Program, Test Plan: Heavy Fuel Oils Category) 

2. CAS Description: “A complex combination of hydrocarbons produced as the residual fraction from 

the distillation of heavy coker gas oil and vacuum gas oil. It predominantly consists of 

hydrocarbons having carbon numbers predominantly greater than C13 and boiling above 

approximately 230°C (446°F).” 

Figure 1. Infrared comparison of KiOR “residual oils (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C20-40-branched, 

cyclic and linear” (top) with fossil fuel vacuum gas oil (VGO) (bottom).