Lignocellulosic Biomass Waste Research Articles

Prediction of Bioethanol from Production of Lignocellulosic Biomass Waste from Agriculture and Livestock Using Regression Analysis Model

Background Every year, the food supply must need to increase to accommodate population growth and food consumption increases. It causes the production of lignocellulosic biomass waste (LBW) in Indonesia from sector of agriculture and livestock also increase. Contrast to energy supply, energy demand increases but energy supply from fossil fuel become limit. More than 80% of LBW is dumped or burned, whereas the LBW has the potential as raw material of sustainable bioenergy, especially bioethanol to replace or mix with fossil fuel. This study aimed to predict the bioethanol production from potential of LBW to optimize its utilization. Potential of LBW production is estimated based on production of LBW lignocellulose component (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin). The novelty of this study is obtained predicted values for bioethanol production based on LBW production using a regression analysis model. Methods The data of LBW production is calculated based on converting waste of the crops production (for agriculture sector) and animal unit (AU) (for livestock sector). The data of LBW consist of rice straw, corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, cassava peel, paunch content, and feces. This study use linear regression analysis model to predict bioethanol production from LBW. Results Estimation average LBW lignocellulose production in Indonesia is around 104.47 million tons, and can produce around 59.98 billion gallons (227.01 billion liters) of bioethanol. The regression model based on lignocellulose production (R2) was 0.9925 (cellulose), 0.9848 (hemicellulose), and 0.9294 (lignin). Production of LBW in Indonesia is highest in Southeast Asia and has increased 2.07% per year because crops production, ruminant population, and ruminants slaughtered increase. This value will continue to increase, same with bioethanol production from LBW production. Conclusions Overall, Indonesia has potential to produce bioethanol from LBW. Using the entire the LBW for bioethanol make it possible to meet domestic energy demands in a sustainable.

Machine learning application for predicting key properties of activated carbon produced from lignocellulosic biomass waste with chemical activation

The successful application of gradient boosting regression (GBR) in machine learning to forecast surface area, pore volume, and yield in biomass-derived activated carbon (AC) production underscores its potential for enhancing manufacturing processes. The GBR model, collecting 17 independent variables for two-step activation (2-SA) and 14 for one-step activation (1-SA), demonstrates effectiveness across three datasets—1-SA, 2-SA, and a combined dataset. Notably, in 1-SA, the GBR model yields R2 values of 0.76, 0.90, and 0.83 for TPV, yield, and SSA respectively, and records R2 of 0.90 and 0.91 for yield in 2-SA and combined datasets. The model highlights the significance of the soaking procedure alongside activation temperature in shaping AC properties with 1-SA or 2-SA, illustrating machine learning's potential in optimizing AC production processes.

Utilizing fungal biodegradation for valorisation of lignocellulosic waste biomass and its diverse applications

AbstractMyco degradation is an effective technique for breaking down waste plant substances made of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, which are collectively known as lignocellulose. This abundant organic material is found throughout the world. Due to its recalcitrant nature, lignocellulose poses a challenge for efficient conversion into biofuels, biochemicals, and other valuable products. Myco degradation, which involves the use of fungi to degrade lignocellulosic materials, offers a sustainable and cost‐efficient resolution to this challenge. This review provides an overview of the mechanisms and applications of myco degradation for lignocellulosic biomass degradation. The review discusses the various types of fungi involved in lignocellulose degradation, their enzymatic systems, and the factors that influences their performance. Furthermore, the potential applications of myco degradation products, such as biofuels, enzymes, and bioplastics, are reviewed. It also highlights the implications of myco degradation for waste management and sustainable development. Overall, myco degradation represents a promising technology for the efficient deprivation of lignocellulosic waste biomass, and further research in this field holds great potential for the sustainable creation of bio‐based products.

Prediction of Bioethanol from Production of Lignocellulosic Biomass Waste from Agriculture and Livestock Using Regression Analysis Model

Background Every year, the food supply must need to increase to accommodate population growth and food consumption increases. It causes the production of lignocellulosic biomass waste (LBW) in Indonesia from sector of agriculture and livestock also increase. Contrast to energy supply, energy demand increases but energy supply from fossil fuel become limit. More than 80% of LBW is dumped or burned, whereas the LBW has the potential as raw material of sustainable bioenergy, especially bioethanol to replace or mix with fossil fuel. This study aimed to predict the bioethanol production from potential of LBW to optimize its utilization. Potential of LBW production is estimated based on production of LBW lignocellulose component (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin). The novelty of this study is obtained predicted values for bioethanol production based on LBW production using a regression analysis model. Methods The data of LBW production is calculated based on converting waste of the crops production (for agriculture sector) and animal unit (AU) (for livestock sector). The data of LBW consist of rice straw, corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, cassava peel, paunch content, and feces. This study use linear regression analysis model to predict bioethanol production from LBW. Results Estimation average LBW lignocellulose production in Indonesia is around 104.47 million tons, and can produce around 59.98 billion gallons (227.01 billion liters) of bioethanol. The regression model based on lignocellulose production (R2) was 0.9925 (cellulose), 0.9848 (hemicellulose), and 0.9294 (lignin). Production of LBW in Indonesia is highest in Southeast Asia and has increased 2.07% per year because crops production, ruminant population, and ruminants slaughtered increase. This value will continue to increase, same with bioethanol production from LBW production. Conclusions Overall, Indonesia has potential to produce bioethanol from LBW. Using the entire the LBW for bioethanol make it possible to meet domestic energy demands in a sustainable.

Fractionation of oil palm fronds using ethanol-assisted deep eutectic solvent: Influence of ethanol concentration on enhancing enzymatic saccharification and lignin β-O-4 content

Numerous fractionation methods have been developed in recent years for separating components such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin from lignocellulosic biomass wastes. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have recently been widely investigated as captivating green solvents for biomass fractionation. However, most acidic-based deep eutectic solvent fractionation produces condensed lignin with low β-O-4 content. Besides, most DESs exhibit high viscosity, which results in poor mass transfer properties. This study aimed to address the challenges above by incorporating ethanol into the deep eutectic solvent at various concentrations (10–50 wt%) to fractionate oil palm fronds at a mild condition, i.e., 80 °C, 1 atm. Cellulose residues fractionated with ethanol-assisted deep eutectic solvent showed a maximum glucose yield of 85.8% when 20 wt% of ethanol was incorporated in the deep eutectic solvent, significantly higher than that achieved by pure DES (44.8%). Lignin extracted with ethanol-assisted deep eutectic solvent is lighter in color and higher in β-O-4 contents (up to 44 β-O-4 per 100 aromatic units) than pure DES-extracted lignin. Overall, this study has demonstrated that incorporating ethanol into deep eutectic solvents could enhance the applicability of deep eutectic solvents in the complete valorization of lignocellulosic biomass. Highly enzymatic digestible cellulose-rich solid and β-O-4-rich lignin attained from the fractionation could serve as sustainable precursors for the production of biofuels.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of lignin-derived products from all steam-exploded palm oil mill lignocellulosic biomass waste

BackgroundSteam explosion pretreatment has been proven to be an effective treatment for breaking down the recalcitrant character of lignin–carbohydrate complexes (LCC) in lignocellulosic biomass. This study investigated the production of lignin-derived products from steam-exploded palm oil mill lignocellulosic biomass waste (POMLBW), that is, empty fruit bunches (EFB), kernel shells (KS), and kernel fibers (KF), also known as mesocarp fibers. Steam explosions cause lignin depolymerization, which forms various polyphenols. The low average molecular weight of the steam-exploded lignin-derived products and their antioxidant activities could potentially enhance their antimicrobial activities.MethodsPOMLBW was steam-exploded with various degrees of severity factors (R0: 4.03, 4.91, 5.12, 5.35, and 5.65). Steam-exploded POMLBW produces lignin-derived products such as low-molecular-weight lignin (LML) and water-soluble lignin (WSL). Antioxidant activity was evaluated using 0.5 mM 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Polyphenol content was evaluated using the Folin–Ciocalteu method. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using an agar diffusion assay with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and the thermal characteristics were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis.ResultsWSL and LML resulted in high radical scavenging activity (RSA) of approximately 95% and 80%, with 0.25 g/L and 0.5 g/L of EC50, where the polyphenol amount was 242–448 mg/g (catechin eq.) and 20–117 mg/g (catechin eq.) under all LML and WSL conditions, respectively. The steam-exploded POMLBW had an average molecular weight of 1589–2832 Da, and this condition, including high RSA and polyphenol amounts, was responsible for the high antimicrobial activities of LML against both Gram-positive (Salmonella enterica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Additionally, the thermal properties investigations revealed that the glass transition temperature was 80–90 °C (Tg), the melting temperature (Tm) was 338–362 °C, and the start temperature was 101–128 °C at the beginning of mass loss.ConclusionsThese results show that the lignin-derived product from steam-exploded POMLBW has the potential for antioxidant (LML and WSL) and antimicrobial (LML) applications with good thermal resistance.Graphical

Enzyme characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from duck excreta.

The production of lignocellulosic biomass waste in the agricultural sector of Indonesia is quite high annually. Utilization of lignocellulosic biomass waste through fermentation technology can be used as feed and biofuel. Fermentation technology requires the involvement of micro-organisms such as bacteria (lactic acid bacteria or LAB). LABs can be isolated from various sources, such as duck excreta. However, there have not been many reports of LAB from duck excreta. The present study aimed to characterize LAB enzymes isolated from duck excreta and obtain LAB enzymes with superior fermentation properties. A total of 11 LAB cultures obtained from duck excreta in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were tested. Enzyme characterization of each LAB was performed using the API ZYM kit (BioMérieux, Marcy-I'Etoile, France). The bacterial cell suspension was dropped onto the API ZYM™ cupule using a pipette and incubated for 4 h at 37°C. After incubation, ZYM A and ZYM B were dripped onto the API ZYM cupule, and color changes were observed for approximately 10 s under a strong light source. Esterase activity was moderate for all LABs. The activity of α-chymotrypsin, β-glucuronidase, α-fucosidase, and α-mannosidase was not observed in a total of 10 LAB. The phosphohydrolase and amino peptidase enzyme activity of seven LABs was strong. Only six LAB samples showed protease activity. The glycosyl hydrolase (GH) activity was observed in a total of 8 LAB, while the activity of 2 LAB was strong (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis K5 and Lactobacillus brevis M4A). A total of 2 LABs have superior properties. L. lactis subsp. lactis K5 and L. brevis M4A have a high potential to be used in fermentation. They have the potential for further research, such as their effectiveness in fermentation, lignocellulose hydrolysis, feed additives, molecular characterization to detect specific enzymes, and their specific activities.

Investigation of pre-treatment techniques on spent substrate of Pleurotus ostreatus for enhanced biobutanol production using Clostridium acetobutylicum MTCC 11274

Addressing global energy demand, researchers sought eco-friendly biobutanol production from lignocellulosic waste biomass. In the present research work, five different pre-treatment methods viz., Microwave, Ultrasound, Alkali, Acid, and Hybrid, were investigated to explore its biobutanol production potential by utilizing Pleurotus ostreatus spent as substrate. The compositional and physico-chemical changes of the pre-treated Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) were assessed using SEM, FTIR, and XRD. Hybrid pre-treatment (Microwave, Alkali, Ultrasound) showed higher delignification when compared to conventional pre-treatment method. Hybrid pre-treated SMS resulted in higher total reducing sugars (521.53 ± 1.84 mg/g) than indigenous SMS (267.89 ± 1.53 mg/g). Fermentation of hybrid pre-treated SMS with Clostridium acetobutylicum MTCC 11274 produced the highest biobutanol concentration (9.84 ± 0.03 g/L) and yielded 0.38 ± 0.02 g/g of biobutanol. This study revealed that hybrid pre-treatment could be a promising solution for enhanced biobutanol production using SMS biomass.

Comparative Analysis on Microwave and Pressure Cooker Pre-Treatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass in Glucose Production via Fungal Treatment

Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) is lignocellulosic biomass waste generated from palm oil processing industries. Due to its significant compositions of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, OPEFB can be further utilized and converted into value-added chemical products which can be used as alternative energy. Hence, the focus of this research is to analyze the effect of microwave pre-treatment (MP) and pressure cooker pre-treatment (PCP) parameters on OPEFB lignin reduction. The treated OPEFB was directly processed using two serial fungal treatment processes. The first fungal treatment process (FT-1) was to maximize the OPEFB lignin removal while the second fungal treatment process (FT-2) was to maximize the glucose production. Combination of microbes such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Trichoderma harzianum, Aspergillus niger, and Tricodherma viride was used for both fungal treatment processes. The OPEFB passing 25-mesh screening was used as raw materials. The raw materials mixed with 0.05 w/w NaOH pellets and water to achieve a concentration ratio of 3/50 (w/v) were pre-treated with either MP or PCP. Subsequently, the slurry produced from the pre-treatment process was introduced to FT-1 (P. chrysosporium for 5 days) and finally to FT-2 (T. harzianum, A. niger and T. viride for 4 days). The compositions of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and glucose were analyzed at each process transition and the end of the whole process. It was observed that PCP (60 mins) was the best pre-treatment process with 39.23%-w of lignin removed. On the other hand, combination of MP (150 watts, 60 mins) was followed with FT-1 removed 66.67%-w of lignin. Only around 38.37%-w of lignin was removed when using the whole process, e.g., MP (150 watts, 60 mins), FT-1, and FT-2. The highest composition of glucose, ca. 131.02%-w, was obtained when 40-min PCP followed with FT-1 and FT-2 was applied. The obtained results exhibited that large lignin removal did not necessarily promote high glucose yield in the final product as observed in the 60-min PCP, e.g., P. chrysosporium consumed not only lignin but also presumably hemicellulose and cellulose.

Unlocking the potential: A paradigm-shifting approach for valorizing lignocellulosic waste biomass of constructed wetland enabling environmental and societal sustainability

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are widely recognized as nature-based solutions for wastewater treatment, offering various socio-economic and ecological benefits. However, the sustainable management and disposal of waste biomass generated from CWs have received limited attention. Owing to the rich lignocellulosic proportions, the harvested vegetation can potentially serve as a feedstock for various value-added products, including natural fiber-reinforced polymeric composites (NFRPCs). In this context, for the first time, we present a comprehensive review exploring different valorization routes employed to gainfully utilize waste biomass from CWs. The study discusses various value-added products developed so far from the waste biomass of CW. Biogas generation and bioethanol production are the most commonly explored valorization pathways. However, the commercial implementation of these value-added products is stalled by factors such as growth conditions, pretreatment, moisture content, process conditions, and limited energy recovery efficiency. Furthermore, this article introduces a novel class of sustainable materials, namely NFRPCs, developed for the first time by utilizing waste biomass from CWs as a reinforcement element in the polymeric matrix. A detailed analysis of the physical, mechanical, structural, and crystallographic characteristics of Canna indica (CI)-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites is also discussed to evaluate their pertinence for structural applications. Additionally, we provide an in-depth review of natural-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites, comprising single-fiber composites, hybrid fiber composites, and composites reinforced with organic/inorganic fillers. This comprehensive review emphasizes the potential of utilizing waste biomass from CWs as a sustainable feedstock for developing NFRPCs. It also highlights the promising prospects of NFRPCs as a sustainable substitute to synthetic fiber-reinforced composites, contributing to a circular economy and a greener future.

Harnessing lignocellulosic biomass for butanol production through clostridia for sustainable waste management: recent advances and perspectives

The escalating waste generation rates, driven by population growth, urbanization, and consumption patterns, have made waste management a critical global concern with significant environmental, social, and economic repercussions. Among the various waste sources, lignocellulosic biomass represents a significant proportion of agricultural, agro-industrial, and municipal wastes. Biofuels are gaining attention as a promising substitute to fossil fuels, and butanol is one such biofuel that has been identified as a potential candidate due to its compatibility with existing fuel infrastructure, lower volatility, and higher energy density. Sustainable management of lignocellulosic biomass waste and its utilization in fermentation are viable alternatives to produce butanol via the promising microbial catalyst clostridia. This review provides an overview of lignocellulosic biomass waste management, focusing on recent advances in strain development for butanol production from renewable biomass with an emphasis on future perspectives.

Enhancing biochar properties through doping: A comparative study of sugarcane bagasse and chicken feather

This comparative study explores the production and characterization of biochar derived from a combination of sugarcane bagasse (SB) and chicken feathers (CF), with a doping strategy for each biomass in the other. Two biochars, SB92CF-BC (92% SB and 8% CF) and CF92SB-BC (92% CF and 8% SB), were produced using a top-lit updraft reactor, resulting in a yield of 34% and 27%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed characteristic functional groups in both biochars, with minimal impact from the doping process. Scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM) analysis showed distinct morphological features, with SB92CF-BC exhibiting a smoother surface and CF92SB-BC displaying an irregular and rough morphology. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis confirmed the presence of several elements in both biochars, with a higher nitrogen content in CF92SB-BC. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis demonstrated significant specific surface areas for both biochars, exceeding those reported for unmodified SB and CF biochars. The findings suggest potential synergistic effects resulting from the doping strategy. The study expands knowledge on biochar production from diverse biomass sources and highlights the potential for utilizing lignocellulosic and non-lignocellulosic biomass waste materials for sustainable biochar production.

Isolation of xylose-utilizing yeasts from oil palm waste for xylitol and ethanol production

The energy crisis triggers the use of energy sources that are renewable, such as biomass made from lignocellulosic materials, to produce various chemical compounds for food ingredients and biofuel. The efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into products with added value involves the activity of microorganisms, such as yeasts. For the conversion, microorganisms must be able to use various sugars in lignocellulosic biomass, including pentose sugars, especially xylose. This study aims to isolate xylose-utilizing yeasts and analyze their fermentation activity to produce xylitol and ethanol, as well as their ability to grow in liquid hydrolysate produced from pretreated lignocellulosic biomass. Nineteen yeast isolates could grow on solid and liquid media using solely xylose as a carbon source. All isolates can grow in a xylose medium with incubation at 30 °C, 37 °C, 42 °C, and 45 °C. Six isolates, namely SLI (1), SL3, SL6, SL7, R5, and OPT4B, were chosen based on their considerable growth and high xylose consumption rate in a medium with 50 g/L xylose with incubation at 30 °C for 48 h. Four isolates tested, namely SLI (1), SL6, SL7, and R5, can produce xylitol in media containing xylose carbon sources. The concentration of xylitol produced was determined using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the results ranged from 5.0 to 6.0 g/L. Five isolates tested, namely SLI (1), SL6, SL3, R5, and OPT4B, can produce ethanol. The ethanol content produced was determined using gas chromatography (GC), with concentrations ranging from 0.85 to 1.34 g/L. Three isolates, namely SL1(1), R5, and SL6, were able to produce xylitol and ethanol from xylose as carbon sources and were also able to grow on liquid hydrolyzate from pretreated oil palm trunk waste with the subcritical water method. The three isolates were further analyzed using the 18S rDNA sequence to identify the species and confirm their phylogenetic position. Identification based on DNA sequence analysis revealed that isolates SL1(1) and R5 were Pichia kudriavzevii, while isolate SL6 was Candida xylopsoci. The yeast strains isolated from this study could potentially be used for the bioconversion process of lignocellulosic biomass waste to produce value-added derivative products.Graphical

Evaluation and Optimization of the Different Process Parameters of Mild Acid Pretreatment of Waste Lignocellulosic Biomass for Enhanced Energy Procreation.

The screening and evaluation of different waste lignocellulosic biomasses to meet the ever-increasing energy demand, from the widely available waste lignocellulosic biomasses evaluated. For the current study, peanut shell biomass is considered for energy procreation. However, the energy content of biomass is still lesser as compared to conventional fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. The dilute acid pretreatment has been proven to improve the energy content of the lignocellulosic biomasses to a significant extent. Various pretreatment process parameters have been reported to have different degrees of impact on the betterment of energy procreation. Among various types of pretreatments, dilute acid pretreatment holds notable cognizance. Accordingly, the current manuscript is to evaluate the impact of various pretreatment process parameters (time, temperature, acid concentration, mass:liquor ratio, and particle size which were defined through an exhaustive literature search) for improving the energy recovery potential. The obtained results indicated notable changes in the devolatilization characteristics of the biomass as a result of pretreatment, thereby resulting in the upgradation of the fuel properties. A sustainability investigation has been carried out to point out the efficacy of the optimized pretreatment of biomass in terms of environmental sustainability and was also compared with the raw variant (untreated form of biomass). The proposed scheme of study will definitely be beneficial toward the mitigation of the energy crisis in the state of Jharkhand.

Integrated Production of Xylitol, Ethanol, and Enzymes from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch through Bioprocessing as an Application of the Biorefinery Concept

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB), an abundant source of lignocellulosic biomass waste, is rich in hemicellulose and is converted into xylose for xylitol production. The remaining cellulose-rich residue can be efficiently hydrolyzed into glucose, which serves as a substrate for bioethanol and enzymes. This process aligns with an integrated biorefinery model aimed at optimizing the utilization of OPEFB. This study optimizes a two-stage enzymatic hydrolysis fermentation for OPEFB conversion into value-added products. Using a 4% NaOH pretreatment, lignin was degraded while preserving hemicellulose and cellulose. This hydrolysis yielded 12.27 g/L of xylose and 36.86 g/L of glucose. Ethanol production, using varied fermentation media, achieved maximum concentrations of 0.043 g/L for xylitol and 21.35 g/L for ethanol, with substrate-to-product yields of 0.005 g/g and 0.374 g/g, respectively. Furthermore, enzyme production by Aspergillus niger was assessed on multiple parameters, recording a peak cellulase activity of 55.16 ± 20.24 U/mL and enzyme weight of 42.748 kDa. The OPEFB substrate yielded the highest protein content of 0.00942 ± 0.00010 mg/mL. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the two-stage enzymatic hydrolysis strategy in facilitating integrated biorefinery processes for efficient and sustainable OPEFB utilization.

Systematic characterization of faecal sludge from various sources for its use as a solid fuel

AbstractFaecal sludge (FS) is not extensively evaluated for its potential as a solid fuel mainly due to the general conception of its “highly variable characteristics” in relation to the wide range of on-site sanitation systems. An extensive and systematic FS characterization was therefore conducted on twenty-four samples collected directly from pit latrines, ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs) and urine-diverting dehydrating toilets (UDDTs) at two depths to understand the impact on properties relevant for combustion. The higher heating value (HHV) for these samples lies between 13 to 22 MJ/kg DM (dry matter). However, such high values should be taken with caution since the measurement guidelines recommended the removal of the large inert pieces found in FS. Besides this potential bias of procedure, differences could be observed between containments, where pit latrines showed the largest variability as compared to VIP and UDDT. These differences are mainly correlated with the ash content, ranging from 15 to 50% DM, while the organic elements concentrations were similar for all samples. Interestingly, the same major inorganic elements could be measured in all samples, namely Si, P, Ca and K followed by Mg and Na. Such similar composition is probably due to similar sanitation practices and staple diet. However, the overall concentration of minor elements was below 1000 ppm DM for most samples. The N concentrations were quite high, between 2.5 to 4.5% DM. Abovementioned results may be problematic for process and environmental aspects if FS is combusted alone. FS can therefore be suitable preferably for co-combustion in blend with lignocellulosic biomass waste.

The Application of Lignocellulosic Biomass Waste in the Iron and Steel Industry in the Context of Challenges Related to the Energy Crisis

The Application of Lignocellulosic Biomass Waste in the Iron and Steel Industry in the Context of Challenges Related to the Energy Crisis

Structural variations of lignin and lignin-carbohydrate complexes from the fruit shells of Camellia oleifera during ripening

Camellia oleifera fruit shell (CFS), a waste lignocellulosic biomass resulting from Camellia oleifera oil production industry, is abundantly available in Southern China. Herein, to understand the structural variations of CFS lignins and lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC) during ripening, the native lignin and LCC fractions from CFS (harvested every seven days from October 1 to 30, 2022) were isolated and characterized systematically. The molecular weights of both MWL and DEL fractions steadily increased during ripening. CFS lignins contained abundance of β-O-4′ linkages (maximum of 58.6 per 100Ar in DEL-2), and had low S/G ratios (S/G < 0.6). Moreover, the amounts of β-O-4′ linkages in MWL, DEL, and LCC-AcOH fractions increased first and then decreased during ripening. The main lignin-carbohydrate linkages in the LCC-AcOH fractions were benzyl-ether (7.0–9.4 per 100Ar) and phenyl-glycoside (4.5–5.2 per 100Ar) bonds. Based on the quantitative results, the potential structural diagrams of lignins from different ripening stages of CFS were proposed. Additionally, the LCC-AcOH fractions exhibited pronounced antioxidant capacity and were promising as natural antioxidants. The properties and functions of lignin in plant cell walls, as well as its further appreciation, are crucial for the design and selection of feasible pretreatment strategies for the lignocellulosic materials.

Screening and characterization of waste lignocellulosic biomass as a potential substrate for energy recovery

AbstractThe world is facing a severe energy crisis due to rapid industrialization, population explosion, and modern lifestyle. Conventional energy sources are running out of stock and accordingly, an ardent need for the search for alternative feedstock for energy recovery has been the research focus for the past few decades. In context to this energy turmoil, the lignocellulosic biomasses have emerged as an excellent surrogate antecedent for energy procreation in this present scenario of the energy crisis. Among numerous feasible biomass energy recovery methods, the biochemical route and the thermochemical route are the most prevailing. Accordingly, several biomass characteristics require well understanding to access the extent of possible energy recovery. The compositional features assessed (in terms of cellulose, hemicellulose, extractives, and lignin content) as well as the ultimate analysis carried out (in terms of the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen content) as one of the major parameters for evaluating the energy recovery potential and subsequently, a Van Krevelen diagram was obtained to define their energy recovery potential. The calorific value of the three biomass specimens obtained by using an adiabatic bomb calorimeter and subsequently, their oil equivalence was presented. A tariff and budgetary analysis evaluated to define their respective economic incentives and their potential scope to meet the energy crisis scenario. Finally, a scoring matrix analysis conducted parallelly by evaluating the various parameters by adopting the rank correlation method to screen out the best biomass category. The overall scheme of study adopted for screening a particular waste biomass category from three widely available agriculture waste biomass samples (rice husk, corn cob, and nutshell) through multiple criteria and thereby evaluating the most ideal biomass as the surrogate source to meet the ever‐increasing energy demand which are prevalent in the state of Jharkhand, India.

Utilization of Lignocellulosic Waste as a Source of Liquid Smoke: A Literature Review, Lampung, Indonesia

Introduction: Lignocellulosic biomass waste will become a problem for environmental health if not managed correctly. Biomass waste decomposition can produce methane gas which impacts climate change; it can also be a source of breeding pests and diseases. Various efforts have been made to utilize the waste so that it has an added economic value and is environmentally friendly. One of the waste utilization techniques is the carbonization of lignocellulosic biomass into charcoal and liquid smoke. Discussion: A literature review used the articles from Science Direct, Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Research Gate databases over ten years. This literature review paper aims to provide information on producing and utilizing liquid smoke and concludes with some suggestions on production and application. The literature review results show evidence that liquid smoke has been used since the time of the Neanderthals. Then, since the early nineteen century, liquid smoke has been applied in agriculture as plant growth, soil treatment, pesticide, antimicrobial, rubber coagulant/deodorizer, and antioxidant. Conclusion: A significant contribution of liquid smoke utilization is all lignocellulosic biomass waste that can be carbonized into charcoal and liquid smoke so that it can reduce waste problems. Therefore, liquid smoke can reduce the use of pesticides, herbicides, and insect repellents made from synthetic chemicals that can poison the environment. Not much research has been produced and utilized liquid smoke in the pyrolysis temperature stratification technique. So, there are still quite a lot of research opportunities for the diversification of liquid smoke production.