Sustainable production of environmentally-friendly calcium acetate deicer from wood vinegar by ozonation

Wood vinegar (WV) as a by-product from the carbonization process of woods is a renewable and low-cost source of acetic acid. But its application in the industrial production of cheap and environmentally friendly calcium acetate (CA) deicer is restricted by the presence of toxic and refractory organics. Herein, a novel sustainable production technology was developed via the ozonation treatment of wood vinegar conversion solution (WVCS) prepared by mixing WV with calcium hydroxide. It was found that the initial pH values of WVCSs had great influences on the decolorization and degradation of organics. More importantly, the ozonation process not only degraded toxic organics but also yielded more acetate. The obtained acetate content was as high as 14.6 wt%, which was increased by ~50% in comparison with that of WV (9.8 wt%). Finally, the target product of CA deicer was produced with high purity. This work provides a new promising route for efficient utilization of biomass waste resources.