Small-Scale Biofuel Production: Assessment of Efficiency

This paper discusses a novel process for creating torrefied wood pellets by using a liquid torrefication process. Torrefication is a type of pyrolysis process originally developed for converting wood to an energy-dense material with properties similar to coal that would be more compact and practical to ship long distances and store outdoors. Torrefied wood has been used in specialized metallurgy and other industrial applications, but wide-scale utilization of torrefication for biofuel production has not been commercialized. Virtually all of the processing methods used in the past involve exposing biomass to hot, inert gas in an oxygen free environment; this gas-phase torrefication has a number of drawbacks, including a net-negative overall energy balance; generation of polluted gas that is difficult to treat or control; safety issues associated with the intrusion of oxygen into the inert gas; large equipment size and associated initial capital cost; operating cost; and manufacture of a nonuniform product. This paper discusses a technique that uses a heat treatment fluid in lieu of an inert gas which has numerous advantages over gas-phase torrefication and resolves many of the problems resulting from the commercial application of gasphase torrefication. This process for converting biomass to biofuel using a liquid-phase torrefication process is being developed under the trade name CNFbiofuel™ where CNF is an acronym for Carbon Neutral Fuel. The CNF Biofuel process has been developed on a small scale and results of preliminary testing are presented. Measurements of the energy content for the proposed biofuel process indicate an 18% increase in energy content for torrefied versus untreated wood pellets. Furthermore, the energy density measurements of these treated samples were also consistently higher than the untreated samples. Measurements have also been performed in order to measure the hydrophobic ability of the treated pellets and the results indicate that saturation with water has only a small effect on energy content. The heating value was determined to be reduced by only 2.2% on average after soaking in water for six hours and then being allowed to dry for 12 hours. The potential advantages of liquid-phase torrefication over any currently available gas-phase process are discussed.

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Advances in membranes and membrane reactors for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process for biofuel production

Reviews in Chemical Engineering ◽

10.1515/revce-2019-0067 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dalia Liuzzi ◽

Ekain Fernandez ◽

Susana Perez ◽

Enrique Ipiñazar ◽

Amaya Arteche ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Economies Of Scale ◽

Tropsch Synthesis ◽

Membrane Reactors ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Synthesis Process ◽

Small Scale ◽

Fischer Tropsch ◽

Separation Unit ◽

Fischer Tropsch Synthesis ◽

Hydrocarbon Pool

AbstractThe biomass-to-liquid (BtL) process is a promising technology to obtain clean, liquid, second-generation biofuels and chemicals. The BtL process, which comprises several steps, is based upon the gasification of biomass and the catalytic transformation of the syngas that is obtained via the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction, producing a hydrocarbon pool known as syncrude. The FTS process is a well-established technology, and there are currently very large FTS plants operating worldwide that produce liquid fuels and hydrocarbons from natural gas (NG) (gas-to-liquids, GtL process) and coal (coal-to-liquids, CtL process). Due to the limited availability of local biomass, the size of the BtL plants should be downscaled compared to that of a GtL or CtL plant. Since the feasibility of the XtL (X refers to any energy source that can be converted to liquid, including coal, NG, biomass, municipal solid waste, etc.) processes is strongly influenced by the economies of scale, the viability of small-scale BtL plants can be compromised. An interesting approach to overcome this issue is to increase the productivity of the FTS process by developing reactors and catalysts with higher productivities to generate the desired product fraction. Recently, by integrating membrane reactors with the FTS process the gas feeding and separation unit have been demonstrated in a single reactor. In this review, the most significant achievements in the field of catalytic membrane reactors for the FTS process will be discussed. Different types of membranes and configurations of membrane reactors, including H2O separation and H2-feed distribution, among others, will be analyzed.

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The Role of Small-Scale Biofuel Production in Brazil: Lessons for Developing Countries

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture7070061 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (7) ◽

pp. 61 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Arielle Muniz Kubota ◽

João Dal Belo Leite ◽

Marcos Watanabe ◽

Otávio Cavalett ◽

Manoel Leal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Small Scale

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Oilseed production and sustainable development in northern Brazil: impact on farm income and food security

Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional ◽

10.20396/san.v18i1.8634685 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 21 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marcus Vinícius Alves Finco ◽

Fernanda Dias Bartolomeu Abadio Finco

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Production ◽

Local Food ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Farm Income ◽

Small Scale ◽

Oilseed Production ◽

The Impact

Biofuel production has been a greatly discussed topic in Brazil. In 2004, these debates lead the country to develop new policies and to implement a national program for biodiesel use and production (PNPB) with the intent to increase the share of renewable energy and foster regional development. In this context, the present study aimed to assess the impact of small-scale oilseed production on income generation, as well as on food production. For this purpose, a cross sectional study was conducted with family farmers in the state of Tocantins, in a transition area between the Savannah and the Amazon rain forest. Ranges of socio-economic indicators were collected among smallholders who cultivate Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis. The preliminary results point towards a negative relationship between oilseed activity and local food production, harming the local food security. In addition, the farm income generated by the oilseed activity is lower than conventional crops, such as maize and cassava, for instance. This research is unprecedented in the region and the results can be extremely valuable in supporting regional and national policies on clean energy; helping Brazil to achieve the regional sustainable development.

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Oilseed pressing and vegetable oil properties and upgrading in decentralised small scale plants for biofuel production

International Journal of Oil Gas and Coal Technology ◽

10.1504/ijogct.2017.081104 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (1/2) ◽

pp. 91

Author(s):

Marco Buffi ◽

Matteo Prussi ◽

Giulia Lotti ◽

Francesco Martelli ◽

Luigi Pari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vegetable Oil ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Small Scale

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Small-Scale Mechanical Harvesting and Tractor-Caused Soil Compaction Reduce Early Growth in Sugarcane

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy9120830 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 830 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peifang Zhao ◽

Jiawen Guo ◽

Xinxin Gao ◽

Gaoyuan Liu ◽

Yangrui Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Compaction ◽

Yield Components ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Early Growth ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Cane Yield ◽

Small Scale ◽

Ratoon Crop ◽

The Impact

Sugarcane is an important crop for sugar and biofuel production worldwide. It is mostly grown on hilly area by smallholders in China, which makes harvesting by a combine harvester impractical. Harvesting sugarcane by a small-scale harvester could be more practical. However, information about the impact of small-scale mechanical harvesting on soil compaction (SC), early growth and cane yield, and its yield components is still limited. The scarcity of quantitative information is equally true for the genotype and harvesting method interaction for traits describing early growth and final yield in sugarcane. Field experiments were conducted in a plant and two consequent ratoon crops (RCs) during 2016–2018 in Kaiyuan, Yunnan Province, China, to determine the impact of small-scale mechanical harvesting followed by tractor passages (SMH) on SC, sugarcane early growth and yield, and yield components, and to determine the genotype x treatment (harvesting methods, GT) interactions. The results indicated that, when compared to manual harvesting (MH), SMH significantly (p < 0.05) increased SC at 5, 10, and 20 cm depths by 0.6, 0.71, and 0.69 MPa for the first ratoon crop (RC), respectively; and increased by 1.4, 2.02, and 1.72 MPa at 10, 20, and 30 cm depths for the second RC, respectively. The amounts of underground bud bank (UBB) in RCs were nearly nine times the buds for establishing the plant crop (PC); positive correlations between the UBB and seedling counts were observed, with the highest correlations (r = 0.8453) occurring in May for the second RC. As compared with MH, stool damage and gaps were significantly higher in SMH; meanwhile, the UBB was lower in two RCs; the amount of seedlings, plant height, and height uniformity were significantly lower in SMH. Cane yield declined more in SMH, particularly declining by 20.59% from the first RC to the second RC. With respect to sugarcane production by SMH, the existence of significant GT interactions for stool damage, gaps, early seedling, millable stalks, and height uniformity at the maturing stage suggested that genotype selection trials should be conducted under the SMH rather than in MH.

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Reasons to strike first

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19000840 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

William Buckner ◽

Luke Glowacki

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Conflict ◽

Small Scale

Abstract De Dreu and Gross predict that attackers will have more difficulty winning conflicts than defenders. As their analysis is presumed to capture the dynamics of decentralized conflict, we consider how their framework compares with ethnographic evidence from small-scale societies, as well as chimpanzee patterns of intergroup conflict. In these contexts, attackers have significantly more success in conflict than predicted by De Dreu and Gross's model. We discuss the possible reasons for this disparity.

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Exploring Coronal Structures with SOHO

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100064915 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 179 ◽

pp. 403-406

Author(s):

M. Karovska ◽

B. Wood ◽

J. Chen ◽

J. Cook ◽

R. Howard

Keyword(s):

Solar Corona ◽

Image Enhancement ◽

Coronal Mass Ejections ◽

Dynamical Evolution ◽

Small Scale ◽

Low Contrast ◽

Contrast Structures ◽

Scale Structures ◽

Small Scale Structures ◽

Coronal Structures

AbstractWe applied advanced image enhancement techniques to explore in detail the characteristics of the small-scale structures and/or the low contrast structures in several Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) observed by SOHO. We highlight here the results from our studies of the morphology and dynamical evolution of CME structures in the solar corona using two instruments on board SOHO: LASCO and EIT.

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