| 1. |
- Abdelaziz, Omar, et al.
(författare)
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Continuous catalytic depolymerisation and conversion of industrial kraft lignin into low-molecular-weight aromatics
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2190-6823 .- 2190-6815. ; 8:2, s. 455-470
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Base-catalysed depolymerisation of lignin using sodium hydroxide has been shown to be an effective approach towards exploiting industrial (technical) lignins within the pulp and paper industry. In the present work, a pine kraft lignin (Indulin AT) which is precipitated from black liquor of linerboard-grade pulp was depolymerised via base catalysis to produce low-molecular-mass aromatics without any organic solvent/capping agent in a continuous-flow reactor setup for the first time. The catalytic conversion of lignin was performed/screened at temperatures varying from 170 to 250 °C, using NaOH/lignin weight ratio ≈ 1 with 5 wt% lignin solids loadings for residence times of 1, 2 and 4 min, respectively, with comprehensive characterisation of substrate and produced reaction mixtures. The products were characterised using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and supercritical fluid chromatography-diode array detector-tandem mass spectrometry (SFC-MS). The optimum operating conditions for such depolymerisation appeared to be at 240 °C and 30 h−1, yielding the highest concentration of low-molecular-weight phenolics below the coking point. It was also found that the depolymerised lignin products exhibited better chemical stability during long-term storage at lower temperatures (~ 4 °C).
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| 2. |
- Belkheiri, Tallal, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Hydrothermal liquefaction of kraft lignin in sub-critical water: the influence of the sodium and potassium fraction
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823. ; 8:3, s. 585-595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a part of developing a hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process to valorise lignin, it is important to consider integration possibilities with existing infrastructures in order to obtain an overall positive economic impact. One obvious example is to integrate the HTL process with the kraft pulp mill: transport and storage costs is reduced, the temperature levels on process streams can be matched (energy integration) and the recovery/use of alkali can be made efficient. In this study, softwood kraft lignin was depolymerised using sub-critical water (623 K; 25 MPa) in a continuous, small pilot unit with a flow rate of 2 kg/h. ZrO2, K2CO3/KOH and Na2CO3/NaOH were used as catalytic system, and phenol as the capping agent. The influence of the ratio between sodium and potassium in the feed on the yield and composition of the product stream was investigated. The results showed that bio-oil, water-soluble organics (WSO) and char yields were not remarkably influenced by shifting the catalytic system from potassium to sodium. Moreover, the yields of most phenolic compounds did not change significantly when the sodium fraction was varied in the feed. The amounts of suspended solids in the bio-oil produced showed, however, a diminishing trend, (decrease from 10.8 to 3.8%) when the sodium fraction was increased in the feed, whilst the opposite trend was observed for the heavy oil, which increased from 24.6 to 37.6%.
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| 3. |
- Berguerand, Nicolas, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Producer Gas Cleaning in a Dual Fluidized Bed - a Comparative Study of Performance with Ilmenite and a Manganese Oxide as Catalysts
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823. ; 2:3, s. 8-252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Secondary catalytic gas conditioning is one strategy to eliminate tars formed in a producer gas during biomass gasification. However, most catalysts tend to lose their tar reforming activity after short period of operation due to carbon formation. A novel technique for catalytic gas cleaning based on two interconnected fluidized beds has been investigated; this technique can be applied to all types of gasifiers. The idea is to reform the tar components into useful molecules - even at high tar contents - by means of a circulating catalyst. More precisely, the producer gas is cleaned with catalyst in one of the reactors, referred to as the fuel reactor (FR), while the catalyst is continuously regenerated in another reactor, the air reactor (AR). The system described here is coupled with the Chalmers 2-4 MWth biomass gasifier while the AR is fed with nitrogen-diluted air. The effect of different catalysts on both the tar content and the gas composition was investigated. Some of the tested materials do not only reform tars, they also influence the H2/CO-ratio in a beneficial manner; in particular, ratios closer to 3 in the reformed gas are favorable if subsequent methanation is implemented. In this paper, comparative results based on testing with manganese- and iron-based catalysts are presented. The former is a manufactured catalyst while the latter is a natural ore. Results suggest that both show satisfying ability for regeneration from carbon deposits. Higher temperature enhances tar decomposition during experiment with both catalysts. Moreover, the iron-based catalyst enhances water gas shift activity, which in turns impacts the total amount of produced gas. On the other hand, the manganese-based catalyst seems to display higher propensity for tar conversion.
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| 4. |
- Bilal, M., et al.
(författare)
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Bioprospecting lignin biomass into environmentally friendly polymers—Applied perspective to reconcile sustainable circular bioeconomy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823.
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The valorization of lignin into biopolymers and other high-value products development is the most promising technology for sustainable development. This technology has gain importance for the development of kind of different biopolymers such as epoxies, polyesters, polyurethanes, phenol resins, polyhydroxyalkanoates, poly(lactic acids), and other useful biopolymers. However, lignin recalcitrance remains a potential problem for efficient lignin valorization, and therefore, several efforts have been made to develop high-efficiency bioprocesses for the synthesis of target polymer types, and other useful bioproducts. A comprehensive insight into lignin structure and properties will aid to understand the catalytic and metabolic deconstructive pathways for the efficient valorization of lignin. Due to the presence of multifunctional properties of lignin for the development of kinds of different biobased polymers, the review aims to highlight the biosynthesis and structure, potentialities of lignin and lignin-derivatives on polymers development, and future trends with outlook in lignin valorization have been systematically summarized.
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| 5. |
- Birru, Eyerusalem, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the potential of energy saving in a traditional sugar canemill during steady state and transient conditions : part I: basecase plant model
- 2015
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer. - 2190-6823 .- 2190-6815.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sugar cane mills are energy intensive industries andalso have a large potential of providing surplus energy interms of heat or power. Identification of heat and mechanicallosses in sugar mills is one approach in indicating energysaving potential in sugar mills, especially in traditional mills.Such assessment of the energy flows in sugar mills needs to bedone both in steady state and transient conditions (where suddenstoppages occur). In this paper, such an approach is consideredwhere a base case plant is modeled for steady state andtransient state operations. For the transient state study, a typicalstoppage is chosen and three different scenarios aremodeled. Heat loss calculations are done for major cogenerationunits and for the amount accumulated of the surplus bagassewhen the steady state operation is estimated. The resultsof the models show that during steady state operation, thelosses related to mechanical prime movers is on the higherside as the mills and shredder are driven by steamand generatemechanical power higher than what is needed by the mills andthe shredder equipment themselves. In the transient statescenarios, where fuel oil is introduced during press mill stoppage,there is steam wasted (steam that could have been usedfor mechanical power generation) starting from the periodwhere the fuel oil is introduced until the power required duringthe stoppage is reached. The CO2 emission during the use offuel oil is also quite significant during the stoppage.
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| 6. |
- Birru, Eyerusalem, et al.
(författare)
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Energy performance comparisons and enhancements in the sugar cane industry
- 2019
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Berlin/Heidelberg. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823. ; 9:2, s. 267-282
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, energy-related operational parameters for modern and traditional (conventional) sugar mills are analyzed, with the goals of identifying improvements in energy efficiency and potential for surplus electricity export. Results show that the power- to-heat ratio of modern and traditional mills is clearly distinct, lying in the ranges of 0.3–0.5 and 0.04–0.07, respectively. Modifications under consideration for the traditional mills include the following upgrades: electric drives and higher capacity back-pressure turbine (case 1); high-pressure boiler, condensing extraction steam turbine and electric drives (case 2); and improvements in case 2 plus bagasse drying (case 3). The thermodynamic impact of these modifications shows that more power is generated as the modification becomes more advanced. Case 1 exhibits a modest increase in cogeneration efficiency (4%) as compared to the base case, while the cogeneration efficiency increase is more marked for cases 2 and 3 (21% and 31%, respectively). Surplus power was studied in a regional context, where it was found that the contribution of 19 retrofitted sugar mills in nine Brazilian regions could supply 30% or more power as compared to current installed power capacity. The economic analysis showed that levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was lowest for case 1 (11 USD/MWh) and highest for cases 2 and 3 (58 USD/kWh).
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| 7. |
- Birru, Eyerusalem, et al.
(författare)
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Upgrading of a traditional sugar cane mill to a modern milland assessing the potential of energy saving during steady stateand transient conditions : part II: models for a modifiedcogeneration unit
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer. - 2190-6823 .- 2190-6815. ; 6:2, s. 233-245
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is known that there is a significant amount ofthermal energy used for the sugar cane industry for the purposeof power production and for use in the sugar or ethanolprocessing in cane sugar industries. Likewise, it is understoodthat there are substantial amounts of waste heat that is notbeing recovered, in particular for traditional sugar mills. Regardlessof this, energy conservation is given less considerationas compared to operational convenience due to the factthat sugar mills are self-sufficient in energy (heat and power).The identification of such potential heat loss areas (especiallyduring transient conditions) suggests the sugar mills play avital role in energy saving. In this study, a modified setup ofthe base case plant considered in part I of this paper is assessedfor its energy potential and possible major heat losses duringsteady state and transient conditions where 2-h stoppage of themill presses are considered to occur. For the modified setup,there are two major scenarios considered having two subscenarioseach. The result of the assessment showed that thesteady state assumption scenario of the modified plant (wherebagasse drying is not considered) indicated a 20 % reductionin the losses considered which resulted in a 57 % power generationincrease as compared to the steady state model of thebase case plant. It is also possible to save excess bagasse bydrying the bagasse for later use during unexpected stoppage.The carbon dioxide emission (amounting 29 t/day in case 2aof this study) that occurs during the use of fuel oil during suchstoppages will thus be avoided. The simple economic analysisshowed that it is only in case 2a where fuel oil cost is includedin the operation cost that resulted in a negative NPV. Since therest of the scenarios use bagasse as a fuel which is free, theNPV for all was positive. For the electricity price of 0.04 US$/kWh and discount rate of 15 %, the minimum paybackperiod attained is about 3 years (case 1b) where the bagassemoisture content is 30 % whereas the maximum payback periodis 6 years (case 1a) where there is no bagasse dryingconsidered.
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| 8. |
- Björnsson, Lovisa, et al.
(författare)
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Emerging technologies for the production of biojet fuels from wood—can greenhouse gas emission reductions meet policy requirements?
- 2024
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The transition from fossil jet fuel to biojet fuel is an important step towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from aviation. To enable such a fuel shift, the Swedish Government introduced a GHG emission reduction mandate of 27% by 2030 for aviation fuel sold in Sweden, forcing fuel suppliers to blend in biojet fuel in fossil jet fuel. A similar policy instrument is being discussed within the EU. Biojet fuels with life cycle GHG emissions 90% lower than those for fossil jet fuel are projected to be available by 2025, which by far exceeds the requirement of 65% lower emissions in the EU Renewable Energy Directive. The purpose of this study was to carry out life cycle assessments for a number of wood-fuel-based production chains near commercialization and to determine whether they meet the Swedish projection and the EU requirement. The study illustrates what can be achieved in a region with high availability of wood fuels and access to heat and power with low GHG emissions. The production chains studied include the production of hydrocarbon intermediates via (i) fast pyrolysis, (ii) hydrothermal liquefaction, (iii) thermal gasification followed by Fischer–Tropsch-synthesis, and (iv) cellulosic ethanol fermentation followed by upgrading of these four intermediates to biojet fuel and other liquid biofuels. The results show that all the production chains studied can deliver biojet fuels with 89–91% lower GHG emissions than fossil jet fuels. Non-fossil hydrogen is required to achieve low emissions in the upgrading of intermediates from fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction.
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| 9. |
- Bär, Janosch, et al.
(författare)
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Deconstruction of hybrid poplar to monomeric sugars and aromatics using ethanol organosolv fractionation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823. ; 8:4, s. 813-824
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Acidic ethanol organosolv fractionation of hybrid poplar was investigated to determine the impact of pretreatment conditions on the resulting biomass and lignin properties and to assess the subsequent deconstruction of the cell wall biopolymers to monomeric sugars and aromatics. It was found that increasing reaction severity (i.e., time and temperature) during the organosolv fractionation increased the rate of delignification and xylan solubilization while the lignins recovered from the liquors were found to exhibit lower degrees of polymerization. Glucose hydrolysis yields > 75% at moderate enzyme loadings (30 mg/g glucan) could be obtained for the more severe pretreatment conditions. The lignins recovered from the pretreatment liquors were subjected to fractionation using a sequential extraction with solvents of increasing polarity. It was found that the low molar mass, low polydispersity lignins increased in pretreatment liquors with increasing time and temperature and were concentrated in the methanol fraction while a high molar mass fraction was extracted with the diethyl ether. We hypothesize that the extraction of the high molar mass fraction with diethyl ether is due to partial ethyl O-alkylation of lignin hydroxyl groups during pretreatment, rendering lignins more soluble in the non-polar solvent. Finally, depolymerization of unfractionated lignins by thioacidolysis resulted in mass yields of aromatic monomers ranging from 80 to 157 mg monomer per gram of lignin and that these yields exhibited strong positive correlations to the lignin β-O-4 content, molar mass, and strong negative correlations to the pretreatment temperature.
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| 10. |
- Caceres-Martinez, Louis Edwards, et al.
(författare)
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Significance of the particle physical properties and the Geldart group in the use of correlations for the prediction of minimum fluidization velocity of biomass–sand binary mixtures
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2190-6815 .- 2190-6823. ; 13:2, s. 935-951
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study explores the relevance of the physical properties of biomass particles on the determination of the minimum fluidization velocity (U-mf) of binary mixtures. Fluidization experiments were performed in a cold flow unit with diverse biomasses mixed with sand in different mass fractions. Gas velocity and pressure drop across the bed were used to determine U-mf. Different correlations reported in the literature were evaluated on their ability to accurately predict U-mf of the mixtures. Results showed satisfactory predictions when appropriately identifying correlations according to the corresponding Geldart groups for the biomass particles. This perspective opens new possibilities toward the generalization of correlation factors and helps in improving the accuracy of the prediction for highly heterogeneous mixtures. The methodology also allows the analysis of mixtures for which the experimental approach is difficult, such as those including char particle, with the only requirement of carefully measuring the physical properties of the particles.
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