A Physico-Chemical Comparison of KiOR “Naphtha (Lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C5-12-

Branched, Cyclic and Linear” with Fossil Fuel Hydrodesulfurized Naphtha

KiOR “Naphtha (Lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C5-12-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 demonstrated to be 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 naphtha is a hydrocarbon cut of the KiOR crude analog, “paraffin waxes (lignocellulosic), 

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

KiOR “naphtha (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C5-12-branched, cyclic and linear” is 

indistinguishable in performance from its fossil fuel counterparts. 

See the infrared comparison of KiOR “naphtha (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C5-12-branched, cyclic and 

linear” and fossil-fuel naphtha (Figure 1). It should be noted that the conventional fossil fuel used for 

infrared comparison contains 10% ethanol, which is not present in the KiOR “naptha (lignocellulosic), 

hydrotreated, c5-12-branched, cyclic and linear”. The added ethanol presents as peaks, and may slightly 

skew the hydrocarbon peaks.

Comparison of KiOR “Naphtha (Lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C5-12-Branched, Cyclic and 

Linear” with its Fossil Fuel Analog:

KiOR “naphtha (lignocellulosic), Hydrotreated, C5-12-Branched, Cyclic and Linear”

1. CAS Number: 1267611-35-7

2. Description: “A complex combination of hydrocarbons obtained from a lignocellulosic feedstock 

by thermocatalytic conversion followed by hydrotreatment. It consists predominantly of branched, 

cyclic and linear aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons having carbon numbers in 

the range of C5-C12 and boiling in the range of approximately 21°C to 160°C (70°F to 320°F).”

3. Vapor Pressure: approximately 20.7 kPa

4. Specific Gravity: approximately 0.8-0.83

5. Octanol/Water Partition Coefficient: 2.2 log Kow, mean for the complex mixture, generally in 

compliance with EPA OPPTS 830.7550*

6. PIONA Analysis:

Branched aliphatics approximately 5-18%
Linear aliphatics approximately 2-12%

Cyclic aliphatics approximately 25-55%

Aromatics approximately 20-45%

Fossil Fuel Hydrodesulfurized Naphtha

1. CAS Number: 64742-49-0 (represented in the attached Low Benzene Naphthas Robust 

Summary)

2. CAS Description: “A complex combination of hydrocarbons obtained by treating a petroleum 

fraction with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst. It consists of hydrocarbons having carbon 

numbers predominantly in the range of C4 through C11 and boiling in the range of approximately 

minus 20°C to 190°C (-4°F to 374°F)”

3. Vapor Pressure: approximately 75.8-89.6 kPa, Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)

4. Specific Gravity: approximately 0.77

5. Octanol/Water Partition Coefficient: 2.73-3.86 log Kow, measured range for representative 

constituents present in the category streams*

6. PIONA Analysis:

Branched aliphatics approximately 32%

Linear aliphatics approximately 5%

Cyclic aliphatics approximately 9%

Aromatics approximately 29%

Figure 1. Infrared comparison of KiOR “naphtha (lignocellulosic), hydrotreated, C5-12-branched, cyclic 

and linear” (top) with fossil fuel hydrodesulfurized naphtha (bottom). Note that the commercial CITGO 

fossil fuel product contains 10% ethanol, which is not found in the KiOR product. This will be seen as 

peaks, and may skew hydrocarbon peaks slightly.

* While not appropriate for characterizing the solubility of complex mixtures, several good-faith efforts have been made to utilize

accepted in vitro or in silico modeling methodologies to provide somewhat-informative data.