Characterization of the pyroligneous acids generated from the pyrolysis of four types mulberry branches

The pyroligneous acids (PA) were sequently obtained through a polygeneration process from the mulberry branches of diploid, triploid and tetraploid. The results showed that the antibacterial ability of PA from triploid mulberry was stronger than that from diploid and tetraploid mulberry. It can be found that the content of phenols in PA of triploid mulberry (34.9%) was slightly higher than that in diploid (32.4%) and tetraploid mulberry (33.1%). The physicochemical properties of PA had proven to be varied in different ploidy mulberry branches, and they still are bogged down by content of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Among them, the PA prepared from triploid exhibited competitive unit production costs as compared to the price of diploid and tetraploid. The combining of laboratory-scale experimental outcomes and economic analysis demonstrated practical feasibility of the PA generated from triploid mulberry, which implied a promising solution for high value-added and prospective industrial application of mulberry branches.