Biomass Conversion Technologies Research Articles

In-suit growth of NiS quantum dots embedded in ultra-thin N,O,S-tri-doped carbon porous nanosheets on carbon cloth for high-efficient HMF oxidation coupling hydrogen evolution

The rational design and development of highly efficient non-precious metal chalcogenide electro-catalysts is key but challenging technology for biomass conversion into high-valued chemicals coupling hydrogen evolution. Herein, the NiS quantum dots (QDs) with good dispersibility embedding into wrinkled N,O,S-tri-doped carbon porous nanosheets (NiS@NOSC) implanted in-situ on carbon cloth were synthesized via a facile one-step pyrolysis method. The as-obtained NiS@NOSC porous nanosheets network displays excellent superhydrophilic/superaerophobic surface, facilitating fast diffusion of ion and release of H2 bubble. The self-supported NiS@NOSC on carbon cloth could serve as both cathode and anode electrodes for high-efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into high-valued 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) coupling hydrogen evolution requiring only a low potential of 1.51 V to afford 50 mA cm−2. The high electrocatalysis performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of high activity of monodisperse NiS QDs, superhydrophilic/superaerophobic network structure, and the electronic regulation between NOSC and NiS QDs in NiS@NOSC, which has promising foreground to fulfil large-scale commercialize application.

The role of sustainable bioenergy in a fully decarbonised society

With the Danish government's goals of decreasing 70% of CO2 emissions by 2030 and reaching a fully decarbonised society in the years after, this paper aims to identify the role of sustainable bioenergy in achieving this goal. The methodology and approach presented are relevant for other countries heading in the same direction. The focus is on strategies to further develop the sustainable biomass resources and conversion technologies within energy and transport paired with CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage) to coordinate with other sectors and achieve a fully decarbonised society. By using hourly energy system modelling and a Smart Energy Systems approach, it is possible to create a robust multiple technology strategy and keep the sustainable bioenergy levels. The results are presented as principles and guidelines on how to include the use of sustainable biomass in the individual country as an integrated part of global decarbonisation.

Concept for Biomass and Organic Waste Refinery Plants Based on the Locally Available Organic Materials in Rural Areas of Poland

The importance of developing efficient and environmentally friendly means of biomass conversion into bioenergy, biofuels, and valuable products is currently high in Poland. Accordingly, herein, two new energy and biofuel units are proposed, namely, POLpec and POLbp, which are used as reference sources for comparing energy consumption and biofuel production in other countries or regions in the world. One POLpec equals 4400 PJ (195.1 Mtoe), reflecting the annual primary energy consumption of Poland in 2020. Meanwhile, one POLbp equals 42 PJ (1.0 Mtoe), referring to the annual production of biofuels in Poland in 2020. Additionally, a new import–export coefficient β is proposed in the current study, which indicates the relationship between the import and export of an energy carrier. More specifically, the potential of biomass and organic waste to be converted into energy, biofuels, and valuable products has been analysed for the rural areas of Poland. Results show that the annual biomass and organic waste potential is approximately 245 PJ (5.9 Mtoe). Finally, the concept of a biomass and organic waste refinery plant is proposed based on the locally available organic materials in rural areas. In particular, two models of biomass refinery plants are defined, namely, the Input/Output and Modular models. A four-module model is presented as a concept for building a refinery plant at the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences—National Research Institute in Poznan, Poland. The four modules include anaerobic digestion, gasification, transesterification, and alcoholic fermentation. The primary reason for combining different biomass conversion technologies is to reduce the cost of biomass products, which, currently, are more expensive than those obtained from oil and natural gas.

Enhanced chemical looping gasification of biomass coupled with CO2 splitting based on carbon negative emission

Under the background of fossil fuel consumption and global climate change, an enhanced chemical looping gasification of biomass coupled with CO2 splitting (CLGCS) was proposed in this work to produce high-quality syngas from biomass and split CO2 into CO by using Fe-based mixed oxygen carriers (OCs) without extra catalyst and excessive energy consumption, which provided a carbon negative emission technology for the cascade conversion of biomass and resource utilization of greenhouse gas. The reaction equilibrium and regulation mechanism of CLGCS were analyzed in Ellingham diagrams via theoretical calculation. Variable conditions were designed and performed to investigate the reaction performance of OCs. The intermetallic synergy was analyzed, and the improvement order of heterologous metal on lattice oxygen transfer of OCs was Co2O3 > NiO > CeO2 > CaO. The NiO modified sample exhibited excellent reaction behavior in CLGCS, which provided active sites for catalytic cracking of tar in CLG stage and activating CO2 molecules in splitting stage. Syngas with heating value 13.32 MJ/m3 and carbon conversion 74.18% were achieved in CLG stage, corresponding to CO2 conversion 64.09% and CO yield 23.59 mmol/g in splitting stage. High temperature enhanced the endothermic reactions in CLGCS process, and the biomass occurrence ratio indicated a positive correlation with CO2 splitting. Although some OC particles agglomerated in reaction process, the pore structure and reactivity remained stable. After 20 cyclic reaction tests, the carbon conversion in CLG stage and CO2 conversion in splitting stage were kept at 67.52% and 73.5%, respectively. The reaction path of CLGCS with NiO modified OC was summarized as: Fe2O3/NiFe2O4 → Fe/FeO/Ni → Fe3O4/Ni → Fe2O3/NiFe2O4.

Effectiveness Study on The Vacuum Biomass Gasification System Using Variation of Suction Pump Rotation Power and Biomass Wetness

Environmental damage and depletion of fossil fuels trigger the development of biomass conversion technology to produce environmentally friendly fuels. One of them, biomass conversion technology is vacuum pressure biomass gasification technology. Previous research has succeeded in converting biomass energy into electricity, but the results are still not effective. In this regard, the effectiveness of the gasification system needs to be improved in this research. The combination of dry biomass and soaked biomass, as well as the combination of suction pump rotation at 1400 and - 2800 rpm, is the focus of this study. Based on the experimental results, the larger the motor rotation, the higher the vacuum pressure. The soaked biomass is more stable in maintaining the level of the amount of biomass in the reactor and the reactor is never overflowing. The combination of 2800 rpm rotation with drenched biomass can maintain the reactor temperature maintained at 800-1000 °C, the most stable and highest evaporation rate is around 23.0 x 10-4 kg/s, and produces the highest heat rate of 5.19 kilowatts. Based on this, the combination of soaking biomass with a rotation of 2800 rpm produces the best effectiveness.

Volatile Organic Compounds Released During the Fast Pyrolysis of Peanut Shells and Environmental Implications

The biomass conversion technologies, especially different types of pyrolysis, have been intensively studied to improve biomass energy transformation suggesting a low impact on the environment. In particular, fast pyrolysis of biomass is considered to be a thermal process in which the starting material is converted to bio-oil, char and gas products. In this work, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the gaseous fraction of peanut shells fast pyrolysis were collected and identified at atmospheric pressure. Aromatic compounds, hydrocarbons, furans and other oxygenated compounds were identified using solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (CG-MS) as a detection system. The composition of volatiles was analyzed and compared with the constituents of liquid fraction for comparative purposes. Atmospheric implications of the main compounds identified in the gases fraction were assessed by determining tropospheric lifetimes of the VOCs identified and its impact on environment at the local, regional or global scale.

Forest Dendromass as Energy Feedstock: Diversity of Properties and Composition Depending on Systematic Genus and Organ

Exhaustion of fossil fuel resources, shrinking forest areas, with accompanying deterioration of their quality and striving (also of the society) to make forests perform their ecological function, with simultaneous development and propagation of the biomass conversion technologies—all of this necessitates research of forest biomass diversification. It is a consequence of the fact that its properties and composition depend not only on the genus but also on the plant organ, and they each time determine its usability as a raw biomaterial in a wide range of thermal, physical, or chemical conversion processes. This study reviewed and analysed selected qualitative and quantitative features of forest dendromass, taking into account the genus and a plant organ/morphological part, followed by a group of trees (coniferous and deciduous) and without the latter differentiation. The study involved an analysis of data covering 15 selected qualitative-quantitative features of forest dendromass within three main and nine additional plant organs/morphological parts and 21 genera (5 coniferous and 16 deciduous) typical of the temperate climate.

Biomass Feedstocks for Liquid Biofuels Production in Hawaii & Tropical Islands: A Review

Many tropical islands, including Aruba, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Pacific Island countries, are entirely dependent on importing fossil fuels to meet their energy demands. Due to global warming, improving energy use efficiency and developing regionally available renewable energy resources are necessary to reduce carbon emissions. This review analyzed and identified biomass feedstocks to produce liquid biofuels targeting tropical islands, particularly focusing on Hawaii as a case study. Transportation and energy generation sectors consume 25.5% and 11.6%, respectively, of Hawaii's imported fossil fuels. Various nonedible feedstocks with information on their availability, production, and average yields of oils, fiber, sugars, and lipid content for liquid biofuels production are identified to add value to the total energy mix. The available biomass conversion technologies and production costs are summarized. In addition, a section on potentially using sewage sludge to produce biodiesel is also included. Based on a comparative analysis of kamani, croton, pongamia, jatropha, energycane, Leucaena hybrid, gliricidia, and eucalyptus feedstock resources, this study proposes that Hawaii and other similar tropical regions can potentially benefit from growing and producing economical liquid biofuels locally, especially for the transportation and electricity generation sectors

Biomass Feedstocks for Liquid Biofuels Production in Hawaii & Tropical Islands: A Review

Many tropical islands, including Aruba, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Pacific Island countries, are entirely dependent on importing fossil fuels to meet their energy demands. Due to global warming, improving energy use efficiency and developing regionally available renewable energy resources are necessary to reduce carbon emissions. This review analyzed and identified biomass feedstocks to produce liquid biofuels targeting tropical islands, particularly focusing on Hawaii as a case study. Transportation and energy generation sectors consume 25.5% and 11.6%, respectively, of Hawaii's imported fossil fuels. Various nonedible feedstocks with information on their availability, production, and average yields of oils, fiber, sugars, and lipid content for liquid biofuels production are identified to add value to the total energy mix. The available biomass conversion technologies and production costs are summarized. In addition, a section on potentially using sewage sludge to produce biodiesel is also included. Based on a comparative analysis of kamani, croton, pongamia, jatropha, energycane, Leucaena hybrid, gliricidia, and eucalyptus feedstock resources, this study proposes that Hawaii and other similar tropical regions can potentially benefit from growing and producing economical liquid biofuels locally, especially for the transportation and electricity generation sectors

Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol to Propylene Glycol: Energy, Tech-Economic, and Environmental Studies.

Hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propylene glycol represents one of the most promising technologies for biomass conversion to chemicals. However, conventional hydrogenolysis processes are often carried out under harsh H2 pressures and temperatures, leading to intensive energy demands, fast catalyst deactivation, and potential safety risks during H2 handling. Catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis (CTH) displays high energy and atom efficiency. We have studied a series novel solid catalysts for CTH of glycerol. In this work, detailed studies have been conducted on energy optimization, tech-economic analysis, and environmental impact for both processes. The key finding is that relatively less energy demands and capital investment are required for CTH process. CO2 emission per production of propylene glycol is much lower in the case of transfer hydrogenolysis. The outcome of this study could provide useful information for process design and implementation of novel hydrogenolysis technologies for other energy and environmental applications.

Cascading disposal for food waste by integration of hydrothermal carbonization and supercritical water gasification

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) has drawn great attention as one of the wet biomass conversion technologies. This study investigated a cascading energy recovery process by integrating hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and SCWG, aiming to achieve the efficient disposal and conversion of HTC process water. The physicochemical characteristics of hydrochars produced by HTC at different temperatures and residence times were analyzed. An energy densified hydrochar with calorific value of 22.68 MJ/kg was obtained under 275 °C for 60 min. SCWG was adopted to efficiently achieve the conversion of HTC process water into H2-rich syngas. The effect of reaction temperatures (360 °C, 420 °C, 480 °C), residence times (15 min, 30 min, 45 min) and, and alkali catalysts on gasification characteristics and contaminants removal performance were studied. The highest H2 production of 1151.26 mmol/L was obtained at 480 °C and 45 min with 5 wt% KOH. The highest TOC and COD removal efficiencies of 83.04% and 82.99% were achieved at 480 °C, 45 min, respectively. The efficiencies of SCWG were enhanced by HTC, and less CO2 were generated. This cascading energy recovery process efficiently achieves the conversion of food waste to solid fuel and provides possible optimization of SCWG process.

Zirconium-doped enhanced the biomass hydrodeoxygenation over extremely low-loaded Pd catalysts

Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is regarded as a promising technology for the efficient conversion of biomass to renewable biofuel and chemicals, while it still remains the challenge in rational construction of cost-effective catalysts. Herein, we investigated the effect of oxyphilic metals (Zr/La/Mo) doping on the structure and performance of the extremely low-loaded Pd-based catalysts. The surface morphology, acidity and electronic character of Pd-M/BC catalysts could be regulated due to the electrophilic effect between oxyphilic metals and Pd. Compared with other catalysts, Pd0.25%-Zr1.0%/BC catalyst with 0.25% Pd loading showed excellent activity with > 91.5% yield of 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (MMP) for the vanillin HDO at 65℃ for 2 h. Zr-doping improves the acidity and generates rich oxygen vacancies on the extremely low-loaded Pd-based catalysts, which facilitates the fracture of C-O bond in biomass derivatives.

Plasma technology for lignocellulosic biomass conversion toward an electrified biorefinery

An overview of plasma technology for the electrified and sustainable conversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

Strategies for converting non-edible biomass into value-added chemicals: Economical and reliable biorefining processes

About 35% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the energy sector, which accelerates global warming and sea-level rise. As a renewable resource, biomass not only can replace conventional fossil energy with renewable energy, but it is also a key component of the circular bioeconomy (CBE). To achieve efficient use of bioresources, the concept of biorefinery with CBE strategy is increasingly being considered in several countries. In particular, it aims to reduce crude oil consumption and build an economy that is favorable for the climate and nature by replacing carbon-intensive products such as plastics, synthetic rubber, and synthetic fibers with renewable bio-based resources. The purpose of this article is to investigate biomass conversion technologies for building a CBE and to consider successful biorefinery strategies. In particular, five implications of using biomass are suggested as ways to secure the economic feasibility of biorefinery. We propose a biorefinery that produces value-added chemicals from non-edible biomass through saccharification and fermentation as a strategy to achieve the 2050 goal of net-zero carbon.

Comparative life-cycle assessment of maize cobs, maize stover and wheat stalks for the production of electricity through gasification vs traditional coal power electricity in South Africa

Currently, coal is the most widely used feedstock for electricity generation, including South Africa with a 77% dependence. However, coal-fired power stations also result in adverse environmental impacts, including air, water and soil pollution. The conversion of biomass, such as maize cobs and other agricultural residues, to electricity, could play a vital role in reducing the dependency on coal power in South Africa as well as reducing these environmental impacts. However, there are very few environmental impact studies in the country to address the production or preparation phase of energy feedstocks for electricity production. This study used life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the production of maize and wheat, and the extraction of residue (maize cobs, maize stover or wheat stalks) for producing electricity through gasification and compared these to coal-fired electricity production. The results showed that the main areas of concern for electricity production from biomass were from gasification and transport, contributing roughly 47% each to fossil fuel depletion, just over 46% each towards climate change, 44% and 40% towards particulate matter formation, and 32.8% and 33.2% towards land occupation, respectively. The impacts associated with wheat stalks and maize stover production were higher than those of the maize cobs system. Agricultural land occupation results for the production of 1 ​kg of maize cobs, maize stover and wheat straw were 4.83 ​× ​10 −7 , 4.76 ​× ​10 −7 and 2.38 ​× ​10 −6 ​m 2 , respectively, in one year, with similar trends for the other impact categories as well. The most significant impacts of using coal-fired methods of electricity generation were fossil fuel depletion, ozone depletion, natural land transformation, urban land occupation and climate change, with these burdens being over 90% higher than from the gasification of maize cobs. To improve the environmental performance of the biomass energy sector, improvements in agricultural practices should be implemented, including further research on fertilization, water use, agricultural practices, land transformation, biomass conversion technologies, and transportation. • Maize cobs, maize stover and wheat stalks gasified to produce electricity. • Life cycle assessment used to compare the environmental performance. • Major areas of concern were fossil fuel depletion and climate change. • Wheat stalk production has greater environmental impacts than maize stover and cobs. • The impacts related to coal power are over 90% higher than those of maize cobs.

Techno-economic analysis of a biorenewable route to produce trimellitic acid

Present study investigates techno-economic feasibility of trimellitic acid (TMLA) production from a biorenewable precursor 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) for the first time. A 5 kmol/hr HMF feed rate to produce 99% pure TMLA is considered to provide a roadmap for fixing the minimum sales price of TMLA for significant return on investments and a shorter payback period. The current TMLA sales price varies significantly ($10/kg–$1000/kg) in different markets; depending on the process for TMLA production. Thus, techno-economic feasibility study for TMLA production is investigated considering variable sales price. It is also observed that two distinct reaction routes for TMLA production from HMF are possible and both routes can be profitable even at the minimum sales price of $10/kg. Nevertheless, TMLA production from direct conversion of HMF showed better internal rate of return (IRR) (105.94%) than the one calculated for a two-step process (39.42%). It is also observed that catalyst and raw materials costs are main contributing factor in capital and operating costs, respectively. Thus, cost of feed is varied to study the possible future cases, as HMF cost may decrease with advances in the development of biomass conversion technologies. It is observed that the IRR of the TMLA production plant would further increase significantly by ∼16% if raw material cost is reduced by 10–40% in the future.

Biomass to fuels and chemicals: A review of enabling processes and technologies

AbstractThe growing worldwide concern over the environmental impact of our heavy dependence on fossil fuels has provided impetus for biomass utilisation to produce fuels and chemicals. A cost‐effective conversion technology stands as a challenge for bio‐based fuels and chemicals to be competitive with petroleum‐derived products. This review provides an overview of the recent advances in the conversion technologies of biomass, which includes thermochemical and biochemical processes. With a plethora of conversion technologies available, the choice of suitable conversion technology depends on the biomass feedstock availability and the desired end‐product. It is observed that present research is focused on the development of catalysts and optimisation of process parameters to improve the economics of conversion technologies. Efforts are also on towards utilisation of cheaper substrate, lignocellulosic biomass and CO2‐sequestering algae. Though few technologies have reached the commercial stage, conversion technologies for lignocellulosic and marine biomass are still evolving. Further, much impetus is being given to process optimisation for deriving platform chemicals from biomass for value addition and sustainability of the biorefinery concept. Some key developments in these areas are presented in this review. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Estimation of Hansen solubility parameters with regularized regression for biomass conversion products: An application of adaptable group contribution

Biomass conversion technologies yield unique products for which laboratory characterization of structure and properties is an ongoing challenge. In this study, Hansen solubility parameters are estimated using regularized regression as a platform for adaptable group contribution. A training set of small molecules and a set of biomass conversion molecules are parameterized using simple contributing groups. Regularized regression is then applied as a tool to reduce model complexity. This allows for flexible development of contributing groups, which are then down-selected to those which are most important, while avoiding overfitting. The model is built upon experimental data and uses only python and its science/data analysis libraries. The model also shows good agreement with other published work designed for “pencil and paper” estimation of solubility parameters. The combination of regularized regression with adaptable group contribution has potential for applications in prediction of other molecular properties for which group contribution methods are commonly employed.

Compositional components and methane production potential of typical vegetable wastes.

With the development of agriculture, a huge amount of vegetable waste (VW) is produced every year, posing a large considerable environmental problem that cannot be ignored. Anaerobic digestion (AD), as an eco-friendly, efficient, and sustainable biomass conversion technology, may be used to address the pollution caused by VW. The compositional components of various VWs are different, which will affect their biomethane potential and directly determine whether they are suitable substrates for AD. Thus, this study involved a systematic analysis of the composition and biomethane potential of 20 typical VWs. The results showed that the methane yields of the VWs were different (207.5-346.3 mL/g VS) owing to the differences in composition. More importantly, a correlation between the contents of organic components and methane production was established, and then used to predict methane production by VW rapidly. In addition, first-order model, modified Gompertz, and Cone models were used to describe the biochemical methanogenesis mechanism of these VWs. The results of this study can provide a reference for fundamental research on the AD of VW as well as serve a convenient and precise method to predict methane production by different VWs through analyzing compositional components, which will be beneficial for pollution prevention and the comprehensive utilization of VW in the future.

Perspectives on Bioenergy Feedstock Development in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities

Pakistan faces challenges in both food and energy security. Indeed, extensive literature suggests that food and energy security are interdependent. While acknowledging that food security is still a primary concern for Pakistan, energy security is also a major issue. It is crucial to develop sustainable energy sources for energy production. Among sustainable sources, biomass is a promising source that can be effectively used for environmentally friendly energy production. This article addresses the energy issues and potential solutions using crop residues, non-edible energy crops, and animal and municipal solid wastes in Pakistan. The current research challenges, relevant industries, opportunities, and the future share of energy production derived from renewable and sustainable sources are emphasized with a focus on the potential of biomass energy. This article shows that Pakistan has considerable potential to develop bioenergy crops on marginal lands without compromising food security, with considerable greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits. Pakistan has vast biomass resources, including crop residues, animal waste, municipal solid waste, and forest residues, which collectively produce 230 billion tons of biomass annually. There are about 72 million bovines (cows and buffaloes), 81 million tons per year of crop biomass, and about 785 million birds in poultry farms across the country. Land that is currently non-productive could be used for energy crops, and this has the potential to produce 2500–3000 MW of energy. The utilization of waste cooking oil and fats is the most economically feasible option for obtaining biodiesel due to its easy and almost free availability in Pakistan. Systematic management is needed to collect this huge quantity of waste cooking oil and efficiently convert it to biodiesel. Similarly, molasses may be a promising source for bioethanol production. Furthermore, this study suggests that Pakistan’s energy policies need to be amended to ensure that the energy supply meets the demand. In the future, massive energy projects on biomass-based bioenergy need to be implemented in Pakistan. To achieve its bioenergy potential, Pakistan needs to develop incentive-based bioenergy technologies. Moreover, this objective can only be achieved in the country by initiating R&D projects to promote advanced biomass conversion technologies, such as biogas plants and combustion systems.