Biotechnological Aspects of Lignocellulose and Biomass Degradation

1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-225
Author(s):  
Nigel Halliwell ◽  
Geoffrey Halliwell
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Agricultural Wastes ◽  
Industrial Processes ◽  
Lignocellulosic Materials ◽  
Biological Resource ◽  
Biomass Degradation ◽  
Considerable Potential ◽  
Lignocellulose Biomass

Vast amounts of lignocellulose/biomass are available, both naturally and as agricultural wastes, for exploitation as sources of chemical feedstocks, fuels, foods and feeds. In fact, cellulose is the only renewable biological resource available in sufficient quantity to support such large-scale industrial processes. The major constraints to these conversions and the utilization of lignocellulosic materials are economic. Apart from specially grown biomass crops the cellulose and hemicelluloses from crop residues show considerable potential for exploitation, especially as fossil fuels become depleted and less accessible. The problems may appear great but so too are the rewards.

scholarly journals US Agriculture under Climate Change: An Examination of Climate Change Effects on Ease of Achieving RFS2

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuquan W. Zhang ◽  
Bruce A. McCarl
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Ghg Mitigation ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

The challenges and opportunities facing today's agriculture within the climate change context are at least twofold: in addition to adapting to a potentially more variable climate, agriculture may also take on the addition role of mitigating GHG emissions—such as providing renewable fuels to replace fossil fuels to some extent. For the US, a large-scale GHG mitigation effort through biofuels production pursuant to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) is already unfolding. A question thus naturally arises for the RFS2-relevant US agricultural sector: will climate change make it harder to meet the volume goals set in the RFS2 mandates, considering that both climate change and RFS2 may have significant impacts on US agriculture? The agricultural component of FASOMGHG that models the land use allocation within the conterminous US agricultural sector is employed to investigate the effects of climate change (with autonomous adaptation at farm level), coupled with RFS2, on US agriculture. The analysis shows that climate change eases the burden of meeting the RFS2 mandates increasing consumer welfare while decreasing producer welfare. The results also show that climate change encourages a more diversified use of biofuel feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production, in particular crop residues.

scholarly journals Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Materials as Substrates for Fermentation Processes

Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 2937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Kucharska ◽  
Piotr Rybarczyk ◽  
Iwona Hołowacz ◽  
Rafał Łukajtis ◽  
Marta Glinka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Renewable Resource ◽  
Biomass Pretreatment ◽  
Lignocellulosic Materials ◽  
Fermentation Processes ◽  
Cellulose Digestibility

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant and renewable resource that potentially contains large amounts of energy. It is an interesting alternative for fossil fuels, allowing the production of biofuels and other organic compounds. In this paper, a review devoted to the processing of lignocellulosic materials as substrates for fermentation processes is presented. The review focuses on physical, chemical, physicochemical, enzymatic, and microbiologic methods of biomass pretreatment. In addition to the evaluation of the mentioned methods, the aim of the paper is to understand the possibilities of the biomass pretreatment and their influence on the efficiency of biofuels and organic compounds production. The effects of different pretreatment methods on the lignocellulosic biomass structure are described along with a discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of each method, including the potential generation of inhibitory compounds for enzymatic hydrolysis, the effect on cellulose digestibility, the generation of compounds that are toxic for the environment, and energy and economic demand. The results of the investigations imply that only the stepwise pretreatment procedure may ensure effective fermentation of the lignocellulosic biomass. Pretreatment step is still a challenge for obtaining cost-effective and competitive technology for large-scale conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars with low inhibitory concentration.

Use of Agricultural Residues in Anaerobic Digestion for Energy Production

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-43
Author(s):  
Willem J. Oosterkamp
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Agricultural Residues ◽  
Energy Requirements ◽  
Lignocellulosic Materials ◽  
Phosphate Surplus ◽  
And Storage

: There are large amounts of manure and crop residues that could be used for the generation of renewable energy. Anaerobic Digestion [AD] converts the easily degraded part of these materials into bio-methane and other gases. Bio-methane can be used for the generation of heat and electricity. Only combinations of manure slurries and crop residues are economic substrates for AD. Crop residues are lignocellulosic materials that need to be macerated for efficient conversion into biogas. : Methane yields for different straw lengths and energy requirements for maceration were compiled. The need for sufficient bioavailable micronutrients was established and methane yields for combinations of manure slurries and straw are given. Harvesting methods for crop residues are discussed and a model is developed for the effective organic matter in the effluent of the AD plant. : AD of straw and manures is, with the present subsidies, economic only where AD is done in cooperatives with the members delivering straw and manure and taking back the effluent. : The large scale of AD of manures and crop residues requires reductions in the costs of harvesting transport and storage of crop residues and a solution to the phosphate surplus in the regions with a large concentration of animals.

scholarly journals A Novel Iron Chloride Red-Ox Concentration Flow Cell Battery (ICFB) Concept; Power and Electrode Optimization

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1109
Author(s):  
Robert Bock ◽  
Björn Kleinsteinberg ◽  
Bjørn Selnes-Volseth ◽  
Odne Stokke Burheim
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Flow Cell ◽  
Iron Chloride ◽  
Carbon Electrodes ◽  
Concentration Difference ◽  
Term Energy ◽  
Short And Long Term

For renewable energies to succeed in replacing fossil fuels, large-scale and affordable solutions are needed for short and long-term energy storage. A potentially inexpensive approach of storing large amounts of energy is through the use of a concentration flow cell that is based on cheap and abundant materials. Here, we propose to use aqueous iron chloride as a reacting solvent on carbon electrodes. We suggest to use it in a red-ox concentration flow cell with two compartments separated by a hydrocarbon-based membrane. In both compartments the red-ox couple of iron II and III reacts, oxidation at the anode and reduction at the cathode. When charging, a concentration difference between the two species grows. When discharging, this concentration difference between iron II and iron III is used to drive the reaction. In this respect it is a concentration driven flow cell redox battery using iron chloride in both solutions. Here, we investigate material combinations, power, and concentration relations.

scholarly journals Stabilized Hydroxide-Mediated Nickel-Based Electrocatalysts for High-Current-Density Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Media

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Luo ◽  
Zhiyuan Zhang ◽  
Fengning Yang ◽  
Jiong Li ◽  
Zhibo Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Splitting ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
High Current Density ◽  
Critical Energy ◽  
Alkaline Media ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
High Current ◽  
Large Scale Production ◽  
Electrochemical Water Splitting

Large-scale production of green hydrogen by electrochemical water splitting is considered as a promising technology to address critical energy challenges caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels. Although nonprecious...

The impact of acid hydrolysis conditions on carbohydrate determination in lignocellulosic materials: a case study with Eucalyptus globulus bark

Holzforschung ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Jorge Oliveira ◽  
Bruna Santos ◽  
Maria J. Mota ◽  
Susana R. Pereira ◽  
Pedro C. Branco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acid Hydrolysis ◽  
Eucalyptus Globulus ◽  
Industrial Processes ◽  
Lignocellulosic Materials ◽  
Optimal Conditions ◽  
Hydrolysis Conditions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Eucalyptus Bark

Abstract Lignocellulosic biomass represents a suitable feedstock for production of biofuels and bioproducts. Its chemical composition depends on many aspects (e.g. plant source, pre-processing) and it has impact on productivity of industrial bioprocesses. Numerous methodologies can be applied for biomass characterisation, with acid hydrolysis being a particularly relevant step. This study intended to assess the most suitable procedures for acid hydrolysis, taking Eucalyptus globulus bark as a case study. For that purpose, variation of temperature (90–120 °C) was evaluated over time (0–5 h), through monosaccharides and oligosaccharides contents and degradation. For glucose, the optimal conditions were 100 °C for 2.5 h, reaching a content of 48.6 wt.%. For xylose, the highest content (15.2 wt.%) was achieved at 90 °C for 2 h, or 120 °C for 0.5 h. Maximum concentrations of mannose and galactose (1.0 and 1.7 wt.%, respectively) were achieved at 90 and 100 °C (2–3.5 h) or at 120 °C (0.5–1 h). These results revealed that different hydrolysis conditions should be applied for different sugars. Using this approach, total sugar quantification in eucalyptus bark was increased by 4.3%, which would represent a 5% increase in the ethanol volume produced, considering a hypothetical bioethanol production yield. This reflects the importance of feedstock characterization on determination of economic viability of industrial processes.

scholarly journals A circadian clock in a nonphotosynthetic prokaryote

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. eabe2086
Author(s):  
Zheng Eelderink-Chen ◽  
Jasper Bosman ◽  
Francesca Sartor ◽  
Antony N. Dodd ◽  
Ákos T. Kovács ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Compensation ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Bacterial Biofilm ◽  
Circadian Clocks ◽  
Industrial Processes ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Considerable Potential ◽  
Free Running ◽  
Free Running Period ◽  
Constant Dark

Circadian clocks create a 24-hour temporal structure, which allows organisms to occupy a niche formed by time rather than space. They are pervasive throughout nature, yet they remain unexpectedly unexplored and uncharacterized in nonphotosynthetic bacteria. Here, we identify in Bacillus subtilis circadian rhythms sharing the canonical properties of circadian clocks: free-running period, entrainment, and temperature compensation. We show that gene expression in B. subtilis can be synchronized in 24-hour light or temperature cycles and exhibit phase-specific characteristics of entrainment. Upon release to constant dark and temperature conditions, bacterial biofilm populations have temperature-compensated free-running oscillations with a period close to 24 hours. Our work opens the field of circadian clocks in the free-living, nonphotosynthetic prokaryotes, bringing considerable potential for impact upon biomedicine, ecology, and industrial processes.

Performance of Large-Scale Seasonal Thermal Energy Stores

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Ochs ◽  
W. Heidemann ◽  
H. Müller-Steinhagen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Type System ◽  
Solar Thermal Energy ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Energy Stores ◽  
Construction Type

More than 30 international research and pilot seasonal thermal energy stores (TESs) were realized within the past 30 years. Experiences with operation of these systems show that TES are technically feasible and work well. Seasonal storage of solar thermal energy or of waste heat from heat and power cogeneration plants can significantly contribute to substitute fossil fuels in future energy systems. However, performance with respect to thermal losses and lifetime has to be enhanced, while construction costs have to be further reduced. This paper gives an overview about the state-of-the-art of seasonal thermal energy storage with the focus on tank and pit TES construction. Aspects of TES modeling are given. Based on modeled and measured data, the influence of construction type, system configuration, and boundary conditions on thermal losses of large-scale TES is identified. The focus is on large-scale applications with tank and pit thermal energy stores and on recent investigations on suitable materials and constructions. Furthermore, experiences with the operation of these systems with respect to storage performance are discussed.

Techno-Economic Assessment of Utilizing Wind Energy for Hydrogen Production Through Electrolysis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Ziazi ◽  
Kasra Mohammadi ◽  
Navid Goudarzi
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Production ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
North East

Hydrogen as a clean alternative energy carrier for the future is required to be produced through environmentally friendly approaches. Use of renewables such as wind energy for hydrogen production is an appealing way to securely sustain the worldwide trade energy systems. In this approach, wind turbines provide the electricity required for the electrolysis process to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The generated hydrogen can then be stored and utilized later for electricity generation via either a fuel cell or an internal combustion engine that turn a generator. In this study, techno-economic evaluation of hydrogen production by electrolysis using wind power investigated in a windy location, named Binaloud, located in north-east of Iran. Development of different large scale wind turbines with different rated capacity is evaluated in all selected locations. Moreover, different capacities of electrolytic for large scale hydrogen production is evaluated. Hydrogen production through wind energy can reduce the usage of unsustainable, financially unstable, and polluting fossil fuels that are becoming a major issue in large cities of Iran.

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