In summary, the addition of ethanol enhances the production of
monomeric compounds, especiallyphenol and guaiacol. Herein,the
following role of ethanol can be assumed. One is the acceleration
of the depolymerization process, and another is the inhibition of
repolymerization or the gasification of the produced monomeric
compounds. Intuitively, the acceleration of depolymerization does
not appear to be a feasible explanation because the total yield of
BCO was low when 100% ethanol was used. The inhibition of the
gasification process appears to be reasonable considering that the
losses (100%– BCO yield – SR yield), which are the sums ofthe yields
of water, the volatile compounds and gases, decreased as the ratio
of ethanol increased. The inhibition of repolymerization is unlikely
given that the SR yield increased with the portion of ethanol when