Cheap Biomass Research Articles

The synthesis of hollow carbon nanospheres from potato starch and the application in supercapacitor

The synthesis of high-valued carbon nanomaterials from biomass has always been a hot topic. The work reports the preparation of hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNs) from potato starch with one-step carbonization, in which self-made MgO powder is utilized as the template. In this study, an attempt was made to change carbonization temperature to control HCNs in diameter, wall thickness and pore distribution. Results show that the sample obtained at 800 °C (HCN-800) has a thinner wall thickness (about 12.1 nm), smaller and more uniform diameter (average diameter of 46.2 nm), as well as possesses a high specific surface area (619.53 m2 g−1) and the largest pore volume (2.8994 cm3 g−1). An application in supercapacitor has been verified for the HCNs in the work. In the three-electrode system, the HCN-800 exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, such as superior specific capacitance (324.8 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), high rate performance (215.7 F g−1 at 50 A g−1) and outstanding cycling stability (92.83 % capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles). Moreover, an assembled symmetric supercapacitor shows an energy density of 11.1 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 427 W kg−1, far exceeding that of previously reported carbon electrode materials. In short, the work provides a novel way to synthesize high-value-added HCNs from cheap biomass precursors, which have potential applications in the field of supercapacitors and other energy storage devices.

Clean water harvesting and power generation by solar-absorbing Germanium@k-carrageenan evaporator demonstrating superior energy conversion

The deterioration of climate exacerbates the freshwater crisis. Solar-thermal interfacial evaporation, using sunlight as a driving energy source, is a promising approach to provide an effective solution to freshwater shortages. However, the low energy conversion efficiency and expensive evaporator manufacturing are still to be resolved. Herein, a strategy of clean water harvesting by solar-absorbing germanium@k-carrageenan (Ge@CA) evaporator demonstrating superior energy conversion is proposed. The Ge nanoparticles exhibit a significant solar absorption of 92.33% to achieve efficient solar-thermal conversion. The CA hydrogel provides three-dimensional water transmission channels to the evaporating surface. Meanwhile, the Ge nanoparticles can be fabricated by a facile ball-milling method. The CA as a cheap biomass can be easily interacted with KCl to obtain the porous hydrogel. Taking the advantages of Ge nanoparticles and CA hydrogel, the Janus-type Ge@CA hydrogel evaporator can achieve an evaporation rate of 2.88 kg m−2·h−1 and a solar-vapor conversion efficiency of 82.65% under 1 sun irradiation. Furthermore, the evaporator can produce thermoelectricity with the output voltage of 140.95 mV and the short-circuit current of 13.32 mA, yielding a power of 1.17 W m−2. This reported solar device has huge potential for cutting-edge solar harvesting and usage.

Metabolic and process engineering of Clostridium tyrobutyricum for efficient hydrogen production from sugarcane molasses

Clostridia is the dominant microorganism in dark-fermentative biohydrogen production, but there have been relatively few studies on hydrogen production by Clostridium tyrobutyricum using cheap biomass. In this study, the important process parameters for hydrogen fermentation, such as substrate concentration, pH and temperature, were optimized systematically. Then, the effect of endogenous hydrogenases overexpression on hydrogen production was studied. To achieve economical hydrogen production from cheap substrate sugarcane molasses, the sucrose metabolic pathway was further introduced into C. tyrobutyricum. As a result, the engineered C. tyrobutyricum produced 1098.4 mL hydrogen with a yield of 248.2 mL/g sugar and productivity of 199.6 mL/L/h under the optimum fermentation conditions, which is the highest hydrogen production (910.37 mmol/L) reported so far using molasses. This study demonstrates that C. tyrobutyricum is a promising cell factory for hydrogen production from cheap and renewable biomass resources.

Biomass-derived polymer as a flexible “zincophilic–hydrophobic” solid electrolyte interphase layer to enable practical Zn metal anodes

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) face significant challenges stemming from Zn dendrite growth and water-contact attack, primarily due to the lack of a well-designed solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) to safeguard the Zn anode. Herein, we report a bio-mass derived polymer of chitin on Zn anode (Zn@chitin) as a novel and robust artificial SEI layer to boost the Zn anode rechargeability. The polymeric chitin SEI layer features both zincophilic and hydrophobic characteristics to target the suppressed dendritic Zn formation as well as the water-induced side reactions, thus harvesting a dendrite-free and corrosion-resistant Zn anode. More importantly, this polymeric interphase layer is strong and flexible accommodating the volume changes during repeated cycling. Based on these benefits, the Zn@chitin anode demonstrates prolonged cycling performance surpassing 1300 h under an ultra-large current density of 20 mA cm−2, and a long cycle life of 680 h with a record-high zinc utilization rate of 80 %. Besides, the assembled Zn@chitin/V2O5 full batteries reveal excellent capacity retention and rate performance under practical conditions, proving the reliability of our proposed strategy for industrial AZIBs. Our research offers valuable insights for constructing high-performance AZIBs, and simultaneously realizes the high-efficient use of cheap biomass from a “waste-to-wealth” concept.

Recent advancements and prospects in carbon-based nanomaterials derived from biomass for environmental remediation applications

The conversion of waste biomass into a value-added carbonaceous nanomaterial highlights the appealing power of biomass valorization. The advantages of using sustainable and cheap biomass precursors exhibit the tremendous opportunity for boosting energy production and their application in environmental remediation processes. This review emphasis the development and production of carbon-based nanomaterials derived from biomass, which possess favourable characteristics such as biocompatibility and photoluminescence. The advantages and limitations of various nanomaterials synthesised from different precursors were also discussed with insights into their physicochemical properties. The surface morphology of the porous nanomaterials is also explored along with their characteristic properties like regenerative nature, non-toxicity, ecofriendly nature, unique surface area, etc. The incorporation of various functional groups confers superiority of these materials, resulting in unique and advanced functional properties. Further, the use of these biomass derived nanomaterials was also explored in different applications like adsorption, photocatalysis and sensing of hazardous pollutants, etc. The challenges and outcomes obtained from different carbon-based nanomaterials are briefly outlined and discussed in this review.

Fe-single-atom catalyst nanocages linked by bacterial cellulose-derived carbon nanofiber aerogel for Li-S batteries

Li-S battery (LSB) is promising for achieving high capacity. Still, its development is hindered by the complex redox process with sluggish kinetics and particularly the resulting lithium polysulfides (LiPS) shuttle effects. Single-atom catalysts (SACs), with their maximized atom utilization, could effectively chemisorb soluble LiPSs and expedite the sulfide conversion reaction kinetics. Here we report incorporating Fe single metal atom catalyst (Fe-SAC) in the sulfur cathode design and its electrocatalytic effects. Fe-doped ZIF-8 nanocages were introduced into a cheap biomass bacteria cellulose. A pyrolysis process converted them into an aerogel structure with Fe-SAC-functionalized N-doped carbon nanocages linked by a carbon nanofiber network (FeSA-NC@CBC), which was applied as a scaffold to fabricate freestanding and binder-free sulfur cathodes. We conducted electrochemical measurements to reveal Fe-SAC functions including lowering energy barriers for S8 reduction to liquid-phase LiPSs and further to solid-phase Li2S2/Li2S and accelerating Li2S2/Li2S nucleation and deposition, as corroborated by our theoretical calculation results. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of highly active Fe-SAC and three-dimensional conductive network, the sulfide reaction kinetics is improved, which can diminish LiPS shuttle effects and therefore improve LBS rate performance and cycling stability. Accordingly, the fabricated FeSA-NC@CBC composite cathode delivers an excellent rate capability at 2C with a reversible capacity of 840 mAh/g and a long-term cyclic stability of 800 mAh/g at 1C after 500 cycles.

Synthesis of porous carbon with low oxygen content from fulvic acid for high voltage organic supercapacitors

The operating voltage of over 3.0 V is a severe challenge for commercial supercapacitors in organic electrolyte, which raises rigorous requirements for the structure and composition characteristics of porous carbon. There are few reports regarding the construction of ultra-high voltage withstanding porous carbon derived from cheap biomass carbon sources. Herein, using cheap and renewable fulvic acid (FA) and graphene oxide (GO) as carbon precursors, the ultra-high withstanding voltage 2D porous carbon nanosheets are synthesized through KOH activation and annealing treatment, assisted by the π-π conjugation and hydrogen bonding. The incorporation of GO plays an important role in modulating the 2D nanosheet morphology of FA derived porous carbon, enhancing the e-conductivity and reducing the OFGs of porous carbons, which makes significant contribution to improving the structural stability and electrochemical performance of material. The obtained FG1% C/C composite simultaneously exhibits high specific surface area (2593 m2/g) and desirable e-conductivity (101 S m−1). More critically, it possesses highly stable surface chemical microenvironment with very-low surface oxygen content of 2.7 at.%, mainly existing as stable ether and quinone bonds. Thus, FG1% exerts ultra-high withstanding voltage up to 3.3 V in commercial TEABF4/PC electrolyte with the maximum energy density of 68.6 Wh kg−1, superior to most of the literatures, also it shows excellent stability throughout its lifespan, maintaining improved capacity retention rate (88.9%) at 2.5 A/g over 10,000 cycles. This work pares the way for the architecture design of high withstanding voltage porous carbon.

Bioconversion of cellulose and hemicellulose in corn cob into L-lactic acid and xylo-oligosaccharides

With the banning of antibiotic chemical feed additives, multi-functional bioactive feed additives have been extensively sought after by the feed industry. In this study, low-cost and renewable corn cobs were treated with liquid hot water and converted into bioactive xylo-oligosaccharides and L-lactic acid after enzymatic hydrolysis, strain activation, and fermentation under mild conditions, which achieved a full utilization of cellulose and hemicellulose in corn cobs. Simultaneous saccharification fermentation after strain activation with enzymatic hydrolysate delivered the highest conversion rate of glucose to L-lactic acid (93.00 %) and yielded 17.38 g/L L-lactic acid and 2.68 g/L xylo-oligosaccharides. On this basis, batch-feeding fermentation resulted in a 78.03 % conversion rate of glucose to L-lactic acid, 18.99 g/L L-lactic acid, and 2.84 g/L xylo-oligosaccharides. This work not only provided a green and clean bioconversion strategy to produce multi-functional feed additives but can also boost the full utilization of renewable and cheap biomass resources.

Development of novel sustainable hyperbranched polyester wood adhesives from glycerol and maleic anhydride by solvent free method

Tri-formaldehyde glue is a widely used type of wood glue, but the formaldehyde that it releases is extremely harmful to human health. In this paper, a new biomass adhesive is proposed to replace the triple-formaldehyde adhesive. A hyperbranched polyester was prepared using two cheap biomass materials, glycerol and maleic anhydride, using a solvent-free method. The hyperbranched polyester has good thermal properties. As an adhesive, it has better bonding and water resistance properties than tri-formaldehyde adhesives. In particular, after 3 h of boiling water immersion, the plywood still had a shear strength of about 1.12 MPa, which still satisfied the requirements of Chinese national standard (≥0.7 MPa). What's more, this synthesis is simple to perform, does not require solvents, and leaves a clean by-product which is water. Therefore, the method is expected to be replicated in industry.

Feasibility assessment of recycling waste aluminum dross as a basic catalyst for biomass pyrolysis to produce hydrogen-rich gas

Waste aluminum dross (AD) was used as a substrate on which active constituents were loaded after different activating treatments. A hydrothermal method was applied to synthesize the carbon-aluminum-based composite catalysts (C-ACC), whose pore structures, surface characteristics, and thermal stability were analyzed with the methods of XRF, SEM, and BET. Then, the feasibility of using recycled aluminum dross to catalyze biomass (bits of poplar wood, BPw) pyrolysis to produce hydrogen-rich gas was thoroughly evaluated. The results showed that aluminum dross exhibited significantly enhanced stability after the activating treatments and obtained a relatively large specific surface area and pore volume, presenting similar pore structure characteristics to aluminum oxides (Al2O3). Aluminum dross can be used as an excellent catalyst carrier. Carbon-aluminum-based composite material has a well-developed pore structure. Its specific surface area, average pore size, and pore volume are 118 m2/g, 10.3 nm, and 0.43 cm3/g, respectively, and its heat conductivity coefficient is 0.22 W/m · K. With a combination of advantages of activated carbon and Al2O3, the properties of iron-loaded carbon-aluminum composite catalysts are superior to those of active constituents and carrier materials. With these catalysts, a relatively high gas yield (43.77%) and a relatively small amount of char deposition (19.79%) have been achieved during the process of catalyzing BPw pyrolysis, with the H2 yield significantly increased to 64.24mL/g-biomass. So, it provides a new idea for oriented catalyzation of biomass pyrolysis to produce hydrogen-rich gas. Using aluminum dross as a catalyst carrier or a substitute for some part of the carrier can significantly improve the quality of hydrogen-rich gas. A new method of using aluminum dross to obtain catalysts for producing cheap biomass fuel through a pretreatment process has been put forward.

Economic, social and environmental spillovers decrease the benefits of a global dietary shift.

Dietary shifts are key for enhancing the sustainability of current food systems but need to account for potential economic, social and environmental indirect effects as well. By tracing physical quantities of biomass along supply chains in a global economic model, we investigate the benefits of adopting the EAT-Lancet diet and other social, economic and environmental spillovers in the wider economy. We find that decreased global food demand reduces global biomass production, food prices, trade, land use and food loss and waste but also reduces food affordability for low-income agricultural households. In sub-Saharan Africa, increased food demand and higher prices decrease food affordability also for non-agricultural households. Economic spillovers into non-food sectors limit agricultural land and greenhouse gas reductions as cheaper biomass is demanded more for non-food use. From an environmental perspective, economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions increase as lower global food demand at lower prices frees income subsequently spent on non-food items.

Highly efficiency production of D-allulose from inulin using curli fiber multi-enzyme cascade catalysis

D-Allulose is a rare sugar with numerous physiological benefits and low caloric content, which can be obtained from inulin through enzymatic catalysis. In this study, we combined D-allulose 3-epimerase, exo- and endo-inulinases (EXINU and ENINU) with the NGTag/NGCatcher/CsgA system to accelerate D-allulose accumulation from inulin. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to screen linkers of appropriate length for ENINU. In vitro, we successfully observed the assembled NGCatcher_ENINU_CsgA, NGTag_EXINU, and DAERK fibers using fluorescent labelling with GFP, YFP, and mCherry. The optimal pH and temperature of the tagged variants were comparable to those of the wild-type, and the MD simulations showed that NGCatcher_ENINU_CsgA had improved stability in the working environment of EXINU. D-Allulose accumulation rate of the assembled enzymes cascade (NGCatcher_ENINU_CsgA/NGTag_EXINU_CsgA/DAERK) reached 0.25 g/L min−1 (1.25 mgD-allulose mgDAERK−1 min−1) at an inulin concentration of 100 g/L. The assembled system greatly improves the high-valued productions of rare sugars from cheap biomass.

MnO2 nanoflowers loaded on three-dimensional interconnected bacterial cellulose-derived honeycomb-like carbon for high-performance supercapacitors

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has been considered to be an ideal substrate for electrode materials due to its characteristics of natural abundance and wide range of sources. Controlling the microscopic morphology of electrode materials can enhance the capacity of BC materials effectively. However, most of the remaining BC derived carbon exhibit morphology of fibers, and the effective method for porous morphology need further studies, let alone the electrochemical properties of the materials used as electrode active material. Here, we prepared 3D interconnected mesoporous honeycomb-like carbon by pyrolysis of purified bacterial cellulose (3DIHBC). Then MnO2 with flower-like morphology was then grown on the 3D carbon with a simple hydrothermal method. The prepared 3DIHBC/MnO2 electrode delivers a reversible specific capacitance of 170F g−1 at 1 A g−1, and also retains 76% impressive long-term cycling stability after 5000 cycles at 10 A g−1 in an aqueous electrolyte. This is a highly cost-effective method for the preparation of 3DIHBC/MnO2 composites, and the rational use of cheap biomass carbon can improve the drawback of poor cyclic stability of metal oxides, which is important for environmental protection and mass-producible energy storage.

Biopolymers Produced by Lactic Acid Bacteria: Characterization and Food Application.

Plants, animals, bacteria, and food waste are subjects of intensive research, as they are biological sources for the production of biopolymers. The topic links to global challenges related to the extended life cycle of products, and circular economy objectives. A severe and well-known threat to the environment, the non-biodegradability of plastics obliges different stakeholders to find legislative and technical solutions for producing valuable polymers which are biodegradable and also exhibit better characteristics for packaging products. Microorganisms are recognized nowadays as exciting sources for the production of biopolymers with applications in the food industry, package production, and several other fields. Ubiquitous organisms, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well studied for the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS), but much less as producers of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Based on their good biodegradability feature, as well as the possibility to be obtained from cheap biomass, PLA and PHAs polymers currently receive increased attention from both research and industry. The present review aims to provide an overview of LAB strains' characteristics that render them candidates for the biosynthesis of EPS, PLA, and PHAs, respectively. Further, the biopolymers' features are described in correlation with their application in different food industry fields and for food packaging. Having in view that the production costs of the polymers constitute their major drawback, alternative solutions of biosynthesis in economic terms are discussed.

BECCS opportunities in Brazil: Comparison of pre and post-combustion capture in a typical sugarcane mill

In order to make feasible the efforts that would limit the rise of Earth's temperature to no more than 2 °C, profound changes are required in the energy systems. In this sense, BECCS are considered instrumental to attain possible negative emissions. This draws attention to the sugarcane industry in Brazil, where it is possible to produce fuel ethanol at a relative low cost and a large amount of relatively cheap biomass is available. This paper is part of a research that aims to study the combined production of liquid fuels and electricity, using sustainable sources of biomass and maximizing carbon capture. Two cases related to an innovative technology were evaluated and in both the capture is based on amine technology: pre-combustion capture of CO2 from the fuel gas derived from biomass gasification, and post-combustion capture from gas turbine exhaust gases. Information from the scientific literature was used in modelling the systems, as well as estimating energy penalties and costs associated with capturing, transporting and storing CO2. The results indicate technical feasibility of both capture options, but difficulties in setting the full integration of the power unit (BIG-CC) with the sugarcane mill and the CCS system, due to the high demand for thermal energy as low-pressure steam. The estimated CO2 abatement cost is in the range 60–71 €/tCO2 for pre-combustion capture, and 52–63 €/tCO2 in the case of post-combustion. Feasibility results are impacted by the scale of CO2 capture (0.82–1.44 MtCO2/year), particularly in the pre-combustion case, and the relatively high cost of electricity generation.

Chestnut-Tannin-Crosslinked, Antibacterial, Antifreezing, Conductive Organohydrogel as a Strain Sensor for Motion Monitoring, Flexible Keyboards, and Velocity Monitoring

Flexible sensing devices (FSDs) fabricated using conductive hydrogels have attracted researchers' extensive enthusiasm in recent years due to their versatility. Considering the complexity of their application environments, the integration of various functional characteristics (e.g., excellent mechanical, antibacterial, and antifreezing properties) is an important guarantee for FSDs to stably perform their applications in different environments. Herein, we developed a multifunctional conductive polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) organohydrogel PVA-CT-Ag-Al-Gly (PCAAG) by using a green, natural, and cheap biomass, chestnut tannin (CT), as a crosslinking agent, nano-silver particles (AgNPs) as an antimicrobial agent, aluminum trichloride (AlCl3) as a conducting medium, and the mixed water-glycerol as the solvent system. In this organohydrogel system, CT acted not only as the reducing and stabilizing agent for the preparation of antibacterial AgNPs but also as the crosslinking agent owing to its strong multiple hydrogen bonding interactions with PVA, realizing its multifunctional application. The PCAAG organohydrogel possessed outstanding physical and mechanical properties (350.54% of the maximum fracture strain and 1.55 MPa of the maximum tensile strength), considerable bacteriostatic effects against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and excellent freeze resistance (it could function normally at -20 °C). The motion-monitoring sensor based on the PCAAG organohydrogel exhibited excellent specificity recognition for both large-amplitude (e.g., elbow bending, wrist bending, finger bending, running and walking, etc.) and small-amplitude (frowning and swallowing) human movements. The flexible keyboard constructed by using the PCAAG organohydrogel could easily achieve the transformation between digital signals and electrical signals, and the signal output had both specificity and stability. The velocity-monitoring sensor fabricated by using the PCAAG organohydrogel could accurately measure the speed of the object movement (less than 3% of relative error). In short, the present PCAAG organohydrogel solves the problems of the single application environment and a few application scenarios of traditional conductive hydrogels and possesses remarkable application potential as a multifunctional FSD in many fields such as artificial intelligence, sport management, soft robots, and human-computer interface.

Policymakers Take Notice of Bioeconomy's Potential

Policymakers Take Notice of Bioeconomy's Potential

Wood-Based Self-Supporting Nanoporous Three-Dimensional Electrode for High-Efficiency Battery Deionization.

Developing highly efficient advanced battery deionization (BDI) electrode materials at a low cost is vital for seawater desalination. Herein, a high-efficiency wood-based BDI electrode has been fabricated for seawater desalination, benefiting from the self-supporting three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous structure and rich redox-active sites. The finely tuned rich electrochemical redox active C═O groups on the surface of the wood electrode derived from the facile thermochemical conversion of lignin play a crucial role in the Faradaic cation removal dynamics of BDI. Coupling the 3D wood electrode and a polyaniline-modified wood electrode as the cathode and anode, an all-wood-electrode-based deionization battery has been successfully assembled with a state-of-the-art ion removal capacity of up to 164 mg g-1 in seawater. Our work reported an example of utilizing wood as the BDI electrode via fine-tuning the redox-active sites, demonstrating a novel resource utilization pathway of converting cheap biomass into BDI electrodes for highly efficient seawater desalination.

The Potential of Marine Microalgae for the Production of Food, Feed, and Fuel (3F)

Whole-cell microalgae biomass and their specific metabolites are excellent sources of renewable and alternative feedstock for various products. In most cases, the content and quality of whole-cell biomass or specific microalgal metabolites could be produced by both fresh and marine microalgae strains. However, a large water footprint for freshwater microalgae strain is a big concern, especially if the biomass is intended for non-food applications. Therefore, if any marine microalgae could produce biomass of desired quality, it would have a competitive edge over freshwater microalgae. Apart from biofuels, recently, microalgal biomass has gained considerable attention as food ingredients for both humans and animals and feedstock for different bulk chemicals. In this regard, several technologies are being developed to utilize marine microalgae in the production of food, feed, and biofuels. Nevertheless, the production of suitable and cheap biomass feedstock using marine microalgae has faced several challenges associated with cultivation and downstream processing. This review will explore the potential pathways, associated challenges, and future directions of developing marine microalgae biomass-based food, feed, and fuels (3F).

Popcorn-derived porous carbon based adipic acid composite phase change materials for direct solar energy storage systems

As typical absorbing solar energy collectors, direct absorption solar collectors (DASCs) have shown great potentials in solar energy utilization. However, due to the instability and discontinuities of solar energy, it is difficult for the heat source output sustainably. Fabrication of direct solar energy storage system is appealing, which can combine the DASCs system and the phase change materials (PCMs) storage system in one unit. In our current work, using biomass-derived porous carbons (PC) as solar energy absorbance materials and adipic acid (AA) as PCMs in a direct solar storage system, integrations of solar energy collection, photo-thermal conversion and long-term energy storage have been achieved. The photothermal conversion efficiency of AA+7 wt% PC is as high as 93.83%. The thermal conductivity of the AA+7 wt% PC is 1.18 W/(m·K), which is 149% higher than pure AA (0.45 W/(m·K)). The PC-CPCMs have the advantages of no subcooling, and the energy storage density can reach 195.05 J/g. The environmental benign and cheap biomass porous carbons based composite PCMs encapsulated in direct solar energy storage systems pave a new avenue for high utilization of solar energy. It can meet thermal energy demands independent of weather conditions and time effects.