Fraction Of Biomass Research Articles

Estimating the Greenhouse Gas Emission Potential Due to Construction Work on the 225 kV Segou - Bamako High Voltage BI-Ternal Electric Line in Mali in The Context of Climate Change

The aim of this study is to assess the carbon emissions resulting from the construction of the power line linking Bamako to Ségou. It focuses on direct emissions, more specifically those linked to the degradation and desctruction of the vegetation cover in the project right-of-way. To collect the data, surveys were set up on the project right-of-way, through which 3302 trees were inventoried in situ at the three sites. Circumference was measured at 1.30 m from the ground surface. Allometric equations for direct biomass estimation were used as a predictor o f tree diameter. Emission factors were then used to estimate the potential greenhouse gas emissions resulting from tree felling during power line construction. The standard error associated with the carbon fraction in dry biomass was calculated. In the Ségou, Koulikoro and Dioïla project areas, there are a number of plant species that provide local populations with various ecosystem services, including micro-climate regulation through carbon sequestration or absorption of atmospheric CO2. The implementation of the project will undoubtedly result in the felling of these trees. This felling will generate emissions of 22.11 t.eqCO2/ha in Ségou, 16.56 t.eqCO2/ha in Koulikoro and 15.43 t.eqCO2/ha in Dioïla. Across Ségou, Koulikoro and Dioïla, the trees in the project right-of-way represent a reservoir of 34.04 t/ha of above-ground woody biomass. This biomass represents a carbon stock of around 16.58 t.C/ha. This carbon stock will be transformed into a carbon source with emissions of 60.78 t.eqCO2/ha if the trees in the power line right-of-way are systematically felled. Mitigation measures are therefore urgently needed, with compensatory reforestation areas planted with species with high carbon sequestration potential.

Utilization of benzoic acid–based green deep eutectic solvents for the fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass

The fractionation of lignocellulose utilizing green solvents is essential for the effective operation of biorefineries. In this study, a deep eutectic solvent (DES) system composed of benzoic acid (BA, hydrogen bond donor) and choline chloride (ChCl, hydrogen bond acceptor) was fabricated and successfully applied to the lignocellulose fractionation. The DES has low toxicity and little pollution. In this system, 67.8 % of lignin and 91.2 % of hemicellulose in poplar were removed, leaving 95.8 % of cellulose intact as solid residue. Due to the removal of the amorphous components, crystallinity of cellulose-rich water-insoluble solid (CIS) substantially increased from 55.6 % to 68.6 %, and CIS was used as feedstock for nanocrystalline cellulose preparation with excellent properties. The results showed that the obtained lignin had similar properties to CEL by GPC, FT-IR, 2D-NMR and TGA. A high-purity lignin rich in G units was recovered with a well-preserved structure, which has β–O–4 linkage content up to 53.01 %, low molecular weight, low polydispersity (1.99). Finally, the hydrolyzate can be used for fermentation. This study demonstrated that BA is suitable for DES design with excellent properties on lignin extraction, and this promising DES enable efficient pretreatment for economically feasible biomass conversion. This ChCl-BA DES facilitates environmentally friendly production of functional materials derived from cellulose and lignin under mild conditions.

Effects of NaOH and Na2CO3 pretreatment on the saccharification of sweet sorghum bagasse

In this work, the chemical composition, chemical structures, and sugar release were evaluated for sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) biomass in response to alkaline pretreatments and enzymatic hydrolysis. Five different ratios of 2 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) solutions were used for biomass fractionation along with two heat treatment conditions, 85°C and 150°C for 1 h. Sugar yields from enzymatic hydrolysis were measured at different durations up to 72 h. SSB samples pretreated at high temperature using alkaline solutions containing equal amounts of Na2CO3 and NaOH favored retaining cellulose content (up to 90%) while effectively removing hemicellulose (65%) and lignin (92%). The high-temperature pretreatment conditions resulted in improved delignification, higher sugar concentrations, and sugar yields. Pretreatment solutions consisting of 50% or more NaOH produced higher glucose yields (85%–90%) and total sugar concentrations. Moreover, pretreatment solutions containing Na2CO3 improved the hydrolysis rates allowing SSB samples reach maximum yields faster than those without it, 48 versus 72 h. Results showed pretreatment methods combining NaOH and Na2CO3 were effective at promoting SSB biomass conversion, increasing sugar recovery after hydrolysis, and reducing the hydrolysis duration, all of which are desirable and cost beneficial.

On the use of isotopic differences of carbon fractions of biomass in plants to study transport flows and source-sink relations under different light conditions

It is shown that the differences in the isotopic composition of carbon in the water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions of plant leaf biomass, as well as phloem, are evolutionarily determined. They associated with metabolic reactions during assimilation and photorespiration and do not depend on the illumination mode and on the spectral ranges of headlights used in illumination. The above isotopic shifts are the cause of isotopic differences in assimilatory and photorespiratory carbon stocks that feed various metabolic processes. Due to the strict temporal and spatial organization of metabolism, carbon fluxes from the funds retain isotopic differences without complete mixing. The differences in the isotopic composition of carbon of the water-soluble fraction of biomass and carbon of phloem juice from carbon of the water-insoluble fraction are small (1–3%), but they are quite stable and easily fixed. The carbon of the water-soluble fraction is very close in isotopic composition to the carbon of the phloem and is noticeably enriched with the isotope 13C relative to the water-insoluble fraction, which makes it possible to use it as a marker in the study of assimilate transport in plants, especially during budding and fruiting. It is shown that the reason for the enrichment of autotrophic organs and tissues with isotope 12C relative to carbon of heterotrophic parts of the plant is the predominant participation in their formation of an isotopically light assimilation fund, whereas an isotopically heavy photorespiratory fund takes part in the formation of heterotrophic organs. It is shown that the manifestation of the formation of two isotopically different funds is the discovered relationship of the carbon isotope composition of leaves with their age.

Water hyacinth biorefinery: Improved biofuel production using Trichoderma atroviride pretreatment

AbstractThe pyrolysis of water hyacinth is gaining attention and acceptance as a resource recovery technique due to its availability and economic viability. However, the presence of lignin, one of the three major biomass fractions, presents significant challenges for profitable water hyacinth processing for biofuel production. Fungal pretreatment of water hyacinth for lignin breakdown has been explored but the application of Trichoderma atroviride as a pretreatment for pyrolysis is relatively novel. The efficacy of T. atroviride pretreatment in improving water hyacinth's pyrolytic products using a fixed‐bed reactor was therefore investigated in this study. The optimization process was studied using a central composite design in response surface methodology with Design Expert 13. Delignification of the biomass was established because the elemental analysis showed a 25.42% increase in cellulose content and a 23.40% and 3.37% decrease in lignin and hemicellulose content, respectively. The biomass pretreatment applied influenced the physical and chemical characteristics of the pyrolytic products. The highest pyrolysis oil yield increased by 25.81% at 575 °C and particle size 2290 μm, and the highest char yield decreased by 4.23% at 273 °C and particle size 1500 μm. This research is crucial for policy and research conversations as it offers a scientific basis for the application of T. atroviride pretreatment in biomass pyrolysis technology and emphasizes the optimal utilization of water hyacinths to obtain socio‐environmental benefits.

Estimating vegetation and litter biomass fractions in rangelands using structure-from-motion and LiDAR datasets from unmanned aerial vehicles

ContextThe invasion of annual grasses in western U.S. rangelands promotes high litter accumulation throughout the landscape that perpetuates a grass-fire cycle threatening biodiversity.ObjectivesTo provide novel evidence on the potential of fine spatial and structural resolution remote sensing data derived from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to separately estimate the biomass of vegetation and litter fractions in sagebrush ecosystems.MethodsWe calculated several plot-level metrics with ecological relevance and representative of the biomass fraction distribution by strata from UAV Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) datasets and regressed those predictors against vegetation, litter, and total biomass fractions harvested in the field. We also tested a hybrid approach in which we used digital terrain models (DTMs) computed from UAV LiDAR data to height-normalize SfM-derived point clouds (UAV SfM-LiDAR).ResultsThe metrics derived from UAV LiDAR data had the highest predictive ability in terms of total (R2 = 0.74) and litter (R2 = 0.59) biomass, while those from the UAV SfM-LiDAR provided the highest predictive performance for vegetation biomass (R2 = 0.77 versus R2 = 0.72 for UAV LiDAR). In turn, SfM and SfM-LiDAR point clouds indicated a pronounced decrease in the estimation performance of litter and total biomass.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that high-density UAV LiDAR datasets are essential for consistently estimating all biomass fractions through more accurate characterization of (i) the vertical structure of the plant community beneath top-of-canopy surface and (ii) the terrain microtopography through thick and dense litter layers than achieved with SfM-derived products.

Carbohydrate Derived Value-added Products from Lignocelluloses

Abstract: Chemistry is confronted with the pressing issues of depleting non-renewable fossil resources and the imperative to combat environmental pollution, which is crucial for a sustainable future. Biomass stands out as the sole organic carbon source in nature among the array of sustainable resources available, positioning it as a prime substitute for fossil-derived chemicals and fuels. Extensive research has been conducted on the abundant lignocelluloses as a potential source for biofuels, bioenergy, and various valuable products, wherein, the incorporation of various processes in biomass fractionation to separate biopolymers (such as lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose) has the potential to enhance the overall value of the process. However, industrial demonstration of biomass utilization for commercial products has been limited due to the challenges posed by the recalcitrance and complexity of biomass. Therefore, there is a need for efficient reaction processes to enable the production of bio-chemicals and fuels from renewable lignocellulose. This review focuses on the latest chemical methods developed for producing value-added chemicals from biomass-derived cellulose as a renewable feedstock.

Exploring the potential of Typha Populations for biorefineries: Opportunities in Peru

Abstract Typha species have been used for energy crops in constructed wastewater. They have a great capacity to bioremediate eutrophic waters and produce biomass. Typha represents a potential source for biobased materials, solid biomass, or cellulosic bioethanol for circular bioeconomy. The objective of this paper is to present current knowledge regarding the critical characteristics of the Typha and identify promising applications and potential for its use in Peru. Results of this work show that all plant fractions of Typha biomass (leaves and shoots, roots, and rhizomes) have a high potential for biorefinery.

Lignocellulose Treatment Using a Flow-Through Variant of OrganoCat Process.

This study adapts the biphasic OrganoCat system into a flow-through (FT) reactor, using a heated tubular setup where a mixture of oxalic acid and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) is pumped through beech wood biomass. This method minimizes solvent-biomass contact time, facilitating rapid product removal and reducing the risk of secondary reactions. A comparative analysis with traditional batch processes reveals that the FT system, especially under severe conditions, significantly enhances extraction efficiency, yielding higher amounts of lignin and sugars with reduced solid residue. Notably, the FT system shows partial hydrolysis of the cellulose, which increases with temperature while not producing significant amounts of furfural or 5-HMF, indicating more efficient depolymerization of polysaccharides without substantial sugar degradation. A statistical design of experiments (DOE) using a Box-Behnken design elucidates the influence of process variables (time, solvent flow rate, temperature) on the yield. Key findings highlight reactor temperature as the dominant factor affecting yields, with process time showing a significant but less pronounced impact. This study demonstrates the potential of the FT OrganoCat system for efficient lignocellulosic biomass fractionation and represents an advancement towards continuous lignocellulose processing, contributing to our knowledge of process optimization for improved biorefinery applications.

Investigations into the flow dynamics of mixed biomass particles in a fluidized bed through Hilbert-Huang transformation and data-driven modelling

Flow dynamics of binary particles are investigated to realize the monitoring and optimization of fluidized beds. It is a challenge to accurately classify the mass fraction of mixed biomass, considering the limitations of existing techniques. The data collected from an electrostatic sensor array is analyzed. Cross correlation, empirical mode decomposition (EMD), Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) are applied to process the signals. Under a higher mass fraction of the wood sawdust, the segregation behavior occurs, and the high energy region of HHT spectrum increases. Furthermore, two data-driven models are trained based on a hybrid wavelet scattering transform and bidirectional long short-term memory (ST-BiLSTM) network and a EMD and BiLSTM (EMD-BiLSTM) network to identify the mass fractions of the mixed biomass, with accuracies of 92% and 99%. The electrostatic sensing combined with the EMD-BiLSTM model is effective to classify the mass fraction of the mixed biomass.

Unlocking biomass valorization: Machine Learning insights for Reductive Catalytic Fractionation of cotton stalks

Lignocellulosic biomass valorization has become an intensive area of research due to the importance of renewable nature and availability of biomass. However, biomass fractionation and depolymerization produce numerous datasets, that are difficult to visualise and interpret for the scale-up of the process. Therefore, machine learning algorithms, which can discover hidden patterns in data are applied to these datasets. Reductive Catalytic Fractionation (RCF) of lignocellulosic biomass is an emerging methodology to valorize biomass completely and effectively. Herein, the present work includes the Correlation Analysis and the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of product distribution obtained from RCF of cotton stalks. Interactions between process variables and delignification (DL), sugar retention (SR), total phenolic monomers (PM), and individual phenolic monomers yield were evaluated. Correlations among DL, SR, and PM yields were also evaluated at different reaction conditions through PCA, which were explained using the reaction mechanism and molecular chemistry of lignin.

Effectiveness of diluting Moses Lake, Washington, with low phosphorus Columbia River water

Welch, EB and Brattebo SK. 2024. Effectiveness of diluting Moses Lake, Washington, with low phosphorus Columbia River water. Lake Reserv. Manage. 40:xxxx-xxxx. Moses Lake has been rehabilitated by dilution with low total phosphorus (TP) inflow to improve lake quality in 46 of the past 47 years. Inflows of low TP (7 µg/L) Columbia River water (CRW), which enters during April–September, have ranged from around 75 to over 400 × 106 m3 (mcm), representing 0.5–2.5 total lake volumes annually. The CRW inflows substantially lowered the May–September average lower lake TP from 152 µg/L during 1969–1970 before dilution to 25 µg/L during the past 24 years when CRW input averaged 250 mcm. Total P decreased to an average of 65 µg/L during 11 of the first 12 years following the start of large CRW inputs with the Clean Lakes Project in 1977. Increased CRW inflow since 2000 reduced TP to less than 30 µg/L and has greatly improved lake quality and lowered the cyanobacteria fraction of phytoplankton biomass. Cyanobacteria were minimal at 5–22% of phytoplankton biomass in 2 years (2001, 2021) with 284 mcm of CRW inflow and average TPs of 19 and 20 µg/L. Average TP was 20 and 25 µg/L and cyanobacteria were 12 and 22% in 2022 and 2023 with less CRW (235 and 197 mcm). Even in the more enriched upper lake, TP in 2021–2023 averaged about half that of the previous 4 years (39 vs. 73 µg/L) and cyanobacteria averaged 33% of phytoplankton biomass. Unless the internal TP load is reduced substantially, CRW input should be at least 250 mcm to dilute external and internal loading and to hold TP below 30 µg/L and minimize cyanobacteria, as occurred in 2021–2023.

Pretreatment of Vine Shoot Biomass by Choline Chloride-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents to Promote Biomass Fractionation and Enhance Sugar Production.

Vine shoots hold promise as a biomass source for fermentable sugars with efficient fractionation and conversion processes. The study explores vine shoots as a biomass source for fermentable sugars through pretreatment with two deep eutectic solvents mixtures: choline chloride:lactic acid 1:5 (ChCl:LA) and choline chloride:ethylene glycol 1:2 (ChCl:EG). Pretreatment conditions, such as temperature/time, solid/liquid ratio, and biomass particle size, were studied. Chemical composition, recovery yields, delignification extent, and carbohydrate conversion were evaluated, including the influence of washing solvents. Temperature and particle size notably affected hemicellulose and lignin dissolution, especially with ChCl:LA. Pretreatment yielded enriched cellulose substrates, with high carbohydrate conversion rates up to 75.2% for cellulose and 99.9% for xylan with ChCl:LA, and 54.6% for cellulose and 60.2% for xylan with ChCl:EG. A 50% acetone/water mixture increased the delignification ratios to 31.5%. The results underscore the potential of this pretreatment for vine shoot fractionation, particularly at 30% solid load, while acknowledging the need for further process enhancement.

Dynamic dielectric properties of biomass fractionation system using ethylene glycol

The unclear interaction between microwaves and reaction systems limits the further application of microwave in biomass fractionation. This article explored the main factors and their influencing mechanisms that affect biomass fractionation system’s dielectric properties at the frequency of 915 MHz. The experimental results shown that as the temperature of the system increases from 30 to 140 °C, its dielectric constant varies between 23 and 36, while the dielectric loss ranges from 10.5 to 17. The dielectric properties of the system can be influenced by its moisture content, biomass particle content, and ion concentration, except for the intermediate products formed during the biomass fractionation process. Based on the experimental data, empirical expressions for the dielectric constant and dielectric loss factors of biomass fractionation systems as a function of temperature was constructed with the correlation coefficients of 0.9779 and 0.9902, respectively. This study introduces a novel approach to explore the changes in dielectric properties of non-equilibrium systems. The findings of this study are highly significant for the design and optimization of microwave heating processes.

Discovery of alkaline laccases from basidiomycete fungi through machine learning-based approach

BackgroundLaccases can oxidize a broad spectrum of substrates, offering promising applications in various sectors, such as bioremediation, biomass fractionation in future biorefineries, and synthesis of biochemicals and biopolymers. However, laccase discovery and optimization with a desirable pH optimum remains a challenge due to the labor-intensive and time-consuming nature of the traditional laboratory methods.ResultsThis study presents a machine learning (ML)-integrated approach for predicting pH optima of basidiomycete fungal laccases, utilizing a small, curated dataset against a vast metagenomic data. Comparative computational analyses unveiled the structural and pH-dependent solubility differences between acidic and neutral-alkaline laccases, helping us understand the molecular bases of enzyme pH optimum. The pH profiling of the two ML-predicted alkaline laccase candidates from the basidiomycete fungus Lepista nuda further validated our computational approach, showing the accuracy of this comprehensive method.ConclusionsThis study uncovers the efficacy of ML in the prediction of enzyme pH optimum from minimal datasets, marking a significant step towards harnessing computational tools for systematic screening of enzymes for biotechnology applications.Graphical

Optimization and characterization of a biphasic solvent system for vinegar residue pretreatment: Enhanced fractionation efficiency, propionic acid production, and sustainability

This study introduces a novel biphasic solvent system composed of phenoxyethanol and p-Toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) for the pretreatment of vinegar residue (VR). The system achieves high cellulose retention (80.15 %) and effective removal of hemicellulose (97.10 %) and lignin (88.31 %) under mild conditions (127°C, 1.9 h). Structural changes in pretreated VR were analyzed, revealing significant improvements in enzymatic hydrolysis yield, achieving nearly 90 % conversion.The hydrolysate supports fermentation by Acidpropionibacterium jensenii, leading to efficient propionic acid production. The sugar-to-acid conversion rate of 28.15 % highlights the hydrolysate’s quality for lignocellulosic biotransformation. Density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations confirm stable lignin interactions in the system, driven by hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, and π-π stacking, which promote lignin removal. Recycling phenoxyethanol over four cycles maintains high cellulose digestibility (84–95 %) and consistent delignification rates (88–89 %). The mass balance validated the efficient fractionation of biomass. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on the sustainability, safety, and environmental impact of the system. In conclusion, this study presents a novel biphasic solvent system that effectively fractions biomass, enhances solvent recovery, and reduces environmental impact. This system demonstrates broad applicability to different lignocellulosic biomasses, contributing to both economic and ecological sustainability.

Efficient binary diol-based deep eutectic solvent pretreatment for enhancing enzymatic saccharification and lignin fractionation from eucalyptus

An innovative binary biol-based deep eutectic solvent (DES), specifically ethylamine hydrochloride-ethylene glycol (EaCl-EG), was developed for efficient pretreatment of eucalyptus biomass. This DES exhibited superior performance in achieving high delignification (85.0%) and xylan removal (80.0%), while preserving a significant amount of cellulose (94.5%) compared to choline chloride-based DES. Notably, the pretreated eucalyptus residues showed a remarkable glucose yield of over 92.5%, representing a substantial enhancement of up to 15 times compared to untreated eucalyptus. Furthermore, the pretreated liquor yielded high-purity lignin with a yield of 97.8%, characterized by well-preserved β-O-4 structure and nanoscale dimensions. These lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) were subsequently self-assembled into lignin nanobottles (LNBs), adding further value to the pretreatment process. The proposed novel binary EaCl-EG DES presented great potential as an efficient pretreatment solvent for future biomass fractionation processes.

Energy valorization of solid residue from steam distillation of aromatic shrubs

The interest for essential oils is increasing, alongside ongoing scientific research into distillation techniques. This process generates significant solid residue that could be revalorized as energy source. This study explores the energy recovery of the solid fraction produced during the distillation of three aromatic plants: Cistus ladanifer, Juniperus communis and Rosmarinus officinalis. Two conventional energy recovery technologies were considered and compared through an energy balance: solid biofuel production and biogas generation. In case of solid biofuels, the fractionation of biomass allowed for generation of three different qualities that meet the regulation standards of solid fuels, except for the dust fraction. According to the energy balance, the alternative use of these substrates for biogas production showed competitive production in case of Cistus ladanifer and Juniperus communis, while Rosmarinus officinalis biomass presented inhibition of the anaerobic digestion and null energy recovery.

High species richness of sheep-grazed sand pastures is driven by disturbance-tolerant and weedy short-lived species.

We selected 15 sheep-grazed sand pastures along a gradient of increasing grazing intensity to study the fine-scale patterns of main biomass fractions (green biomass, litter) and that of plant species and functional groups (life forms and social behaviour types). We classified them into five grazing intensity levels based on stocking density, proximity to drinking and resting places and the number of faeces. We aimed to answer the following questions: (i) How does increasing intensity of sheep grazing affect the amount of green biomass, the species richness and their relationship in sand pastures? (ii) How does increasing intensity of sheep grazing affect the biomass of perennial and short-lived graminoids and forbs? (iii) How does the disturbance value-expressed in the biomass ratio of disturbance-tolerant and ruderal species-change along the gradient of grazing intensity? A unimodal relationship between green biomass and species richness was detected; however, the ordination (canonical correspondence analysis, CCA) showed no clustering of pastures subjected to the same levels of grazing intensity. Along the grazing intensity gradient we found an increasing trend in species richness and significant differences in green biomass (decreasing trend), litter (decreasing trend), graminoids (decreasing trend) and short-lived forbs (increasing trend). We found an increasing amount of disturbance-tolerant and ruderal species with increasing grazing intensity. We suggest that we might need to use multiple scales for sampling and a fine-scale assessment of grazing intensity. Our findings might be instructive for pastures in densely populated regions, which are prone to the encroachment of disturbance-tolerant and ruderal species.

Boosting Lignin Dissolution and Biomass Fractionation by Innovative Alkaline Deep Eutectic Solvents

Boosting Lignin Dissolution and Biomass Fractionation by Innovative Alkaline Deep Eutectic Solvents