Utilization Of Renewable Resources Research Articles

Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (SIRES): A Novel Approach for Sustainable Development

Technical and economic aspects of the viability of SIRES (Smart Integrated Renewable Energy Systems) for sustainable development of remote and rural areas of the world are discussed. The hallmark of the proposed SIRES is the smart utilization of several renewable resources in an integrated fashion and matching of resources and needs a priori with the ultimate goal of “energization”, not just “electrification”. Historical background leading to this approach is succinctly presented along with a comprehensive schematic diagram. Modeling of various components and their collective use in optimizing SIRES with the aid of genetic algorithm are presented using a typical hypothetical example. SIRES is also compared with various approaches for rural development based on Annualized Cost of System (ACS) and installation costs. Implementation of SIRES will lead to overall sustainable development of rural communities.

Rheological properties of wormlike micellar gels formed by novel bio-based isosorbide surfactants

Utilization of renewable resources is gaining significance. Isosorbide, which is derived from corn, has been attracting attention as a basic component in various industrial applications. Isosorbide surfactants having an isosorbide group as a building block are called bio-based surfactants. In this study, we report wormlike micelle formation with a mixed surfactant solution of sodium 5-O-dodecyl isosorbide sulfate (SDSS) and 2-O- or 5-O-dodecyl isosorbide (2-DS or 5-DS, respectively). We studied the viscosity behavior of the 3wt%NaCl aq./SDSS system with 2-DS or 5-DS at a constant surfactant concentration (5wt%). The maximum viscosity was achieved at the same surfactant mixing composition for both systems but was higher in the 5-DS system. We also studied the dynamic rheological behavior. Oscillatory-shear (frequency sweep) measurements were performed on the viscoelastic samples that were formed around the viscosity maximum composition. Liquid-like behavior (G′<G′′) was observed in the low-frequency region, whereas solid-like behavior (G′>G′′) was observed in the high-frequency region. The Maxwell-type oscillatory rheological behavior of viscous micellar solutions can be related to the transient network formed by the entanglement of wormlike micelles. The Maxwell model was also fitted to the data, indicating wormlike micelle formation. The mesh size for the 2-DS system (58nm) was larger than that for the 5-DS system (47nm) around the maximum viscosity. This suggests that the 2-DS system forms shorter wormlike micelles with SDSS than does the 5-DS system, because of the possible larger head group area of 2-DS in the SDSS-2-DS mixed layer. Therefore a higher maximum η0 was observed in the 5-DS system.

Production of microbial biosurfactants: Status quo of rhamnolipid and surfactin towards large-scale production.

Surfactants are an important class of industrial chemicals. Nowadays oleochemical surfactants such as alkyl polyglycosides (APGs) become increasingly important. This trend towards the utilization of renewable resources continues and consumers increasingly demand for environmentally friendly products. Consequently, research in microbial surfactants has drastically increased in the last years. While for mannosylerythritol lipids and sophorolipids established industrial processes exist, an implementation of other microbially derived surfactants has not yet been achieved. Amongst these biosurfactants, rhamnolipids synthesized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and surfactin produced by Bacillus subtilis are so far the most analyzed biosurfactants due to their exceptional properties and the concomitant possible applications. In this review, a general overview is given regarding the current status of biosurfactants and benefits attributed to these molecules. Furthermore, the most recent research approaches for both rhamnolipids and surfactin are presented with respect to possible methods for industrial processes and the occurring drawbacks and limitations researchers have to address and overcome.

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis over iron catalysts with corncob-derived promoters

A sustainable strategy for Fischer–Tropsch iron catalysts is successfully achieved by embedding of synergistic promoters from a renewable resource, corncob. The iron-based catalysts, named as “corncob-driven” catalysts, are composed of iron species supported on carbon as primary active components and various minerals (K, Mg, Ca, and Si, etc.) as promoters. The corncob-driven catalysts are facilely synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal treatment under mild conditions. The characterization results indicate that the formation of iron carbides from humboldtine is clearly enhanced and the morphology of catalyst particles tends to be more regular microspheres after adding corncob. It is observed that the optimized corncob-driven catalyst exhibits a higher conversion than without promoters’ catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (ca. 73%vs. ca. 49%). More importantly, a synergistic effect exists in multiple promoters from corncob that can enhance heavy hydrocarbons selectivity and lower CO2 selectivity, obviously different from the catalyst with promoters from chemicals. The proposed synthesis route of corncob-driven catalysts provides new strategies for the utilization of renewable resources and elimination of environmental pollutants from chemical promoters.

Emergy analysis on urban metabolism by counties in Beijing

Beijing is an international metropolis, with rapid urbanization during the last 30 years. However, it faces the challenge of sustainability with limited natural resources. This paper attempts to incorporate emergy analysis on urban metabolism to investigate the sustainability of the entire Beijing at the county level. Based on the time-series climate data and socioeconomic data, we calculated the structure, intensities, environment pressures and output efficiency of the urban metabolic emergy system by counties between 2005 and 2014. The result shows that the metabolic emergy stores of Beijing, especially in Capital Function Core (CFC) area, had been increasing significantly during the study period, especially for the increasing imported and exported emergy accounting. The 16 districts of Beijing can be grouped into four types of functional areas in terms of the function in urban metabolism. The five parts of urban metabolic emergy system had obviously spatial difference by counties, and the renewable emergy in CFC area and Urban Function Development (UFD) zone was obviously lower than in City Development (CD) zone and Ecological Conservation Development (ECD) area. The non-renewable emergy and waste emergy in CFC area, UFD zone and CD zone were obviously higher than that in ECD area. The imported emergy and exported emergy were significantly higher in Dongcheng, Xicheng and Chaoyang district. Emergy use intensities of CFC area had been increasing with the rapid rise in imported emergy and exported emergy, resulting in the increasing environmental pressure. However, the district governments of CFC area are trying to enhance output efficiency and sustainability to reduce waste emergy. The indices of emergy yield rate (EYR) and emergy sustainable index (ESI) had been gradually decreasing and the region with the highest value of EYR and ESI, in decreasing order, are: ECD area, CD zone, UFD zone, and CFC area. The result indicates that CFC area is more fragile and dependent on external resources. Therefore, the Beijing government, especially the district governments of CFC area should encourage the exploitation and utilization of renewable resources and energy, increase the consumption efficiency of non-renewable resources and energy, and establish the mechanism to re-use wastes of resources and energy in order to promote the urban metabolism.

Scheduling Linear Construction Projects with Constraints on Resource Availability

AbstractProduction rates for various activities and overall construction project duration are significantly influenced by crew formation. Crews are composed of available renewable resources. Construction companies tend to reduce the number of permanent employees, which reduces fixed costs, but at the same time limits production capacity. Therefore, construction project planning must be carried out by means of scheduling methods which allow for resource constrains. Authors create a mathematical model for optimized scheduling of linear construction projects with consideration of resources and work continuity constraints. Proposed approach enables user to select optimal crew formation under limited resource supply. This minimizes project duration and improves renewable resource utilization in construction linear projects. This paper presents mixed integer linear programming to model this problem and uses a case study to illustrate it.

Biotechnological route for sustainable succinate production utilizing oil palm frond and kenaf as potential carbon sources.

Due to the world's dwindling energy supplies, greater thrust has been placed on the utilization of renewable resources for global succinate production. Exploration of such biotechnological route could be seen as an act of counterbalance to the continued fossil fuel dominance. Malaysia being a tropical country stands out among many other nations for its plenty of resources in the form of lignocellulosic biomass. To date, oil palm frond (OPF) contributes to the largest fraction of agricultural residues in Malaysia, while kenaf, a newly introduced fiber crop with relatively high growth rate, holds great potential for developing sustainable succinate production, apart from OPF. Utilization of non-food, inexhaustible, and low-cost derived biomass in the form of OPF and kenaf for bio-based succinate production remains largely untapped. Owing to the richness of carbohydrates in OPF and kenaf, bio-succinate commercialization using these sources appears as an attractive proposition for future sustainable developments. The aim of this paper was to review some research efforts in developing a biorefinery system based on OPF and kenaf as processing inputs. It presents the importance of the current progress in bio-succinate commercialization, in addition to describing the potential use of different succinate production hosts and various pretreatments-saccharifications under development for OPF and kenaf. Evaluations on the feasibility of OPF and kenaf as fermentation substrates are also discussed.

Novel Magnetic Cross-Linked Cellulase Aggregates with a Potential Application in Lignocellulosic Biomass Bioconversion.

The utilization of renewable biomass resources to produce high-value chemicals by enzymatic processes is beneficial for alternative energy production, due to the accelerating depletion of fossil fuels. As immobilization techniques can improve enzyme stability and reusability, a novel magnetic cross-linked cellulase aggregate has been developed and applied for biomass bioconversion. The cross-linked aggregates could purify and immobilize enzymes in a single operation, and could then be combined with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which provides easy separation of the materials. The immobilized cellulase showed a better activity at a wider temperature range and pH values than that of the free cellulase. After six cycles of consecutive reuse, the immobilized cellulase performed successful magnetic separation and retained 74% of its initial activity when carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as the model substrate. Furthermore, the structure and morphology of the immobilized cellulase were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the immobilized cellulase was shown to hydrolyze bamboo biomass with a yield of 21%, and was re-used in biomass conversion up to four cycles with 38% activity retention, which indicated that the immobilized enzyme has good potential for biomass applications.

The Protagonism of Biocatalysis in Green Chemistry and Its Environmental Benefits

The establishment of a bioeconomy era requires not only a change of production pattern, but also a deep modernization of the production processes through the implementation of novel methodologies in current industrial units, where waste materials and byproducts can be utilized as starting materials in the production of commodities such as biofuels and other high added value chemicals. The utilization of renewable raw resources and residues from the agro-industries, and their exploitation through various uses and applications through technologies, particularly solid-state fermentation (SSF), are the main focus of this review. The advocacy for biocatalysis in green chemistry and the environmental benefits of bioproduction are very clear, although this kind of industrial process is still an exception and not the rule. Potential and industrial products, such as biocatalysts, animal feed, fermentation medium, biofuels (biodiesel, lignocelulose ethanol, CH4, and H2), pharmaceuticals and chemicals are dealt with in this paper. The focus is the utilization of renewable resources and the important role of enzymatic process to support a sustainable green chemical industry.

Biotechnological Production of Organic Acids from Renewable Resources.

Biotechnological processes are promising alternatives to petrochemical routes for overcoming the challenges of resource depletion in the future in a sustainable way. The strategies of white biotechnology allow the utilization of inexpensive and renewable resources for the production of a broad range of bio-based compounds. Renewable resources, such as agricultural residues or residues from food production, are produced in large amounts have been shown to be promising carbon and/or nitrogen sources. This chapter focuses on the biotechnological production of lactic acid, acrylic acid, succinic acid, muconic acid, and lactobionic acid from renewable residues, these products being used as monomers for bio-based material and/or as food supplements. These five acids have high economic values and the potential to overcome the "valley of death" between laboratory/pilot scale and commercial/industrial scale. This chapter also provides an overview of the production strategies, including microbial strain development, used to convert renewable resources into value-added products.

Energy management strategy for AC/DC microgrid

This paper proposes a grid connected AC/DC microgrid to reduce the processes of multiple conversions in an individual AC or DC microgrid. The hybrid grid consists of both AC and DC networks connected by a bidirectional AC/DC converter. Wind generator, AC loads and utility are connected to the AC bus whereas PV, energy storage system (ESS) and DC loads are tied to the DC bus. The coordination control algorithms of supervisor controller are proposed for smooth power management between AC and DC links and for stable system operation under various generation and load conditions. In this paper, a flexible supervisor controller is developed for a grid connected AC/DC microgrid, where the power flow in the microgrid is supervised based on demanded power with maximum utilisation of renewable resources and ESS. So, the objective of this paper is to use supervisory controller to control the transferred power from AC bus to DC bus and vice versa and control the charging/discharging power of the ESS to reduce the purchased power from the grid or to increase the sold power to the grid with respect to the load demand. The microgrid has been modelled and simulated using MATLAB Simulink. The simulation results show that the system can maintain stable under load variations.

Biomass as a Renewable Resource for Energy and Chemical Products

Global demand for biomass-based products will increase over the next decades. Global biomass demand is expected to roughly double between 2020 and 2050. In addition to ensuring food security for a growing and richer world population, biofuels and bio-based materials will increasingly drive future demand. This lead to a greater utilization of renewable resources to replace the old and existing fossil-based feedstock for energy and chemicals. In addition to depleting fossil fuel reserves and growing demand for energy has necessitated the renewed search for alternative energy resources such as sunflower seeds, soybean, canola, peanuts, coconut, wheat, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum etc. as well as Biomass. Bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas are the most common form of energy getting forms various biomass sources. On the other hand's glycerol, furans, levulinic acid, and aliphatic acids are the most common form of chemical generating from biomass using the various process as well as through the action of microorganisms and their enzymes. In the case of Bangladesh the main energy sources biomass and natural gas where biomass energy is about 70% of the total energy consumption. On the other hand, in the case of chemical production using biomass Bangladesh is not so much updated than the others developing countries around the world. This review represents the biomass sources and from them which various valuable chemicals and energy products are produced as well as biomass as a renewable resource for energy and chemical products.

Designing of cardanol based polyol and its curing kinetics with melamine formaldehyde resin

Commercially used industrial baking enamels consist of alkyd or polyester resin with melamine formaldehyde. These resins are mainly derived from fossil resources. Considering growing environmental legislation regarding use of petroleum based raw materials, utilization of renewable resources to synthesize various chemistries can be the only obvious option as far as academia and industries are concerns. The present work deals with exploration of one of the natural resources (Cardanol) for polyol synthesis, its characterization (FTIR and NMR) and its curing behavior with melamine formaldehyde resin by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The optimized formulations from DSC study were further evaluated for general coating properties to study the suitability of developed polyol for industrial coating application. The experimental studies revealed that melamine content in the curing mixtures and thereby developed crosslinking density played an important role in deciding the coatings properties.

Membrane Technology for the Recovery of Lignin: A Review.

Utilization of renewable resources is becoming increasingly important, and only sustainable processes that convert such resources into useful products can achieve environmentally beneficial economic growth. Wastewater from the pulp and paper industry is an unutilized resource offering the potential to recover valuable products such as lignin, pigments, and water [1]. The recovery of lignin is particularly important because it has many applications, and membrane technology has been investigated as the basis of innovative recovery solutions. The concentration of lignin can be increased from 62 to 285 g∙L−1 using membranes and the recovered lignin is extremely pure. Membrane technology is also scalable and adaptable to different waste liquors from the pulp and paper industry.

Biomass-Based Production of Benzene, Toluene, and Xylenes via Methanol: Process Synthesis and Deterministic Global Optimization

The pursuit toward an environmentally sustainable energy landscape requires the development of economically competitive renewable processes. Efficient utilization of renewable resources is an important first step toward meeting this goal. To this extent, we introduce a systematic deterministic global optimization-based process synthesis framework that determines the most profitable processes to produce benzene, toluene, and/or xylenes from biomass via methanol. Our framework incorporates several novel, competing, and/or commercial technologies. We quantify the effect that biomass type has on the overall profit of a refinery by investigating forest residues, agricultural residues, and perennial crops as potential feedstocks. A thorough economic analysis, together with material, energy, carbon, and greenhouse gas balances, are provided for every proposed process design. The capability of our proposed approach is illustrated through several case studies that produce varying ratios of p-, o-, and m-xylene acr...

Fast measurement by infrared spectroscopy as support to woody biofuels quality determination

The increase in the demand for energy supply during the past few decades has brought and will bring to a growth in the utilisation of renewable resources, in particular of solid biomasses. Considering the variability in the properties of biomass and the globalisation of the timber market, a chemical and physical characterisation is essential to determine the biomass quality. The specific international standards on solid biofuels (ISO 17225 series) describe proper specification and classification of wood chip and pellet, to ensure appropriate quality. Moreover, standard requires information about origin and source of the biomass, normally only to be declared by the producers. In order to fulfill the requirements for the biomass quality, the origin and the source should be assessed, even if currently is hard to determine, in particular on milled or densified biomass. Infrared spectroscopy can provide information on the biomass at the chemical level, directly linked also to its origin and source. This technique is fast and not destructive thus suitable also for online monitoring along the biofuel production chain. In this study, 60 samples belonging to 8 different species were collected and related spectra were acquired using a Fourier transform infrared (IR) spectrometer equipped with a module for solid analysis and analysed by principal component analysis. The results obtained show that the method is very efficient in the identification between coniferous and deciduous wood (99% confidence level) and good results were obtained in the recognition of coniferous/deciduous mixtures, too. Nevertheless, some clear differences have been also noted among intra-class grouping, but additional tests should be carried out. This technique can provide useful information to solid biofuel stakeholders about wood quality and origin, important especially for sustainability issues. Further work will be oriented to the development of IR methodologies for the fast measurement of other important biomass parameters (&lt;em&gt;e.g.&lt;/em&gt;, ash content, high calorific value, nitrogen content, &lt;em&gt;etc&lt;/em&gt;.).

Optimal Integration of Sustainable Technologies in Industrial Parks

Industrial parks are an important instrument to close material cycles as well as to raise the efficiency of industrial production. Spatial closeness allows the exchange of byproducts at low costs as well as energy cascades utilising precious raw materials and energy resources most efficiently. This is of particular interest if industrial parks utilise renewable resources. The utilisation of renewable resources poses new technological but also logistical challenges (Narodoslawsky et al., 2008). Industrial parks offer the possibility to treat different raw materials (and blends of raw materials) as input to various. The problem arising is to create a technology network that optimally utilises resources while at the same time maximises the value added for the members of parks and minimises the ecological pressure from the production within the park. The contribution will deal with three different case studies of industrial parks, one in Austria, one in Germany and one in Egypt. It will present a coherent and systemic approach to find the best technology network in existing industrial parks facing a retrofit situation. Process synthesis using the p-graph method (Friedler et al., 1995; Halasz et al., 2005) is employed to find a stable basic technology network, integrating existing facilities and integrating new technologies (such as CHP and direct solar energy utilisation) that utilise available resources.

High production yield and specific productivity of succinate from cassava starch by metabolically-engineeredEscherichia coliKJ122

BACKGROUND Succinate has been widely used in chemical industries and its microbial production is a desirable option. The feasibility of bio-based succinate production on an industrial scale strongly depends on the utilization of cheaper renewable resources. The use of cassava starch may make the fermentation process of succinate more economically competitive. RESULTS Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of succinate production was performed in minimal salt medium containing a cheap cassava starch. The parameters affecting succinate production from cassava starch by E. coli KJ122 were optimized. A succinate concentration of 70.1 ± 0.1 g Ll−1 was produced with a yield of 1.00 ± 0.01 g g−1 substrate and productivity of 0.97 ± 0.01 g L−1h−1 during batch SSF in a 2 L fermentor under optimized conditions. Further improvements in succinate concentration (82.5 ± 0.7 g L−1), yield (1.03 ± 0.01 g g−1 glucose), and average and specific productivities of 1.15 ± 0.01 g L−1h−1, and 456 mg g CDW−1 h−1, respectively, were observed in fed-batch SSF. CONCLUSION Escherichia coli KJ122 produced a succinate yield of 92% of theoretical maximum and the highest specific productivity ever reported. Succinate production yield and specific productivity from cassava starch in this study are superior to other previously published works. Escherichia coli KJ122 may be used as a biocatalyst for cost-effective succinate production. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

Use of Geospatial Tools to Prioritize Zones of Hydro-Energy Potential in Glaciated Himalayan Terrain

Sustainable development of the Himalayan region is directly linked to optimal utilization of available renewable resources. There is a need to first select the zones suitable for hydropower sites, and then to focus on them only; as purely field-based surveying of rugged mountainous regions for hydropower generation requires too much of time and effort. We used geospatial tools to identify suitable sites for hydropower generation. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based tool called Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) was used for computing annual runoff volume using watershed-wise topography and biophysical variables. The zones suitable for hydropower generation were then identified based on calculated hydropower energy using derived runoff volumes and hydraulic head. The model accuracy was checked using well established efficiency criteria: coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.98), RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR), Percent bias (PBIAS) and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE). For all these parameters, the model was found to be performing satisfactorily.

Bioeconomy: The Challenge in the Management of Natural Resources in the 21st Century

Countries and regions around the world face a number of economic, environmental and social challenges. Increased demand for energy, primary resources (agricultural, forestry and fishing), industrial products and services (healthcare in particular) put significant pressure on the sustainability of the ecosystems that support our society. One option to provide a more sustainable base for the economy would be the transition towards bioeconomy in which the importance of biotechnology and biomass- based production to generate economic output is significantly greater than today. Bioeconomy is considered to encompass all economic activity connected with the utilization of renewable biological resources. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the importance of bioeconomy in the management of natural resources in the 21st century, providing many answers to resolve the previous challenges together with environmental preservation. The concept has gained scientific and political attention during the recent years, especially in Europe but also globally. From the review and analysis of the literature, this paper addresses the emerging bioeconomy, definitions and conceptual bases, and its great potential in different sectors of economic activity and development of new products. Special emphasis is placed on the case of the European Union. We present the concerns of European authorities at this level and best practices already in force in two Nordic countries that can be regarded as the beginning of a general transition to bioeconomy.