Experimental Investigation on the effect of Chemical Pretreatments of Slow-Pyrolyzed Nigerian Jatropha curcas L. Biomass Residues on Pyrolytic oil

In Nigeria, assemblage and discarding of residues from energy crops are increasingly becoming laborious and costly and may pose serious environmental challenges if not correctly managed. The Energy Commission of Nigeria’s long term (2016-2030) plan on the nation’s energy requirements is entirely non-fossil. This is attributable to the global decline of fossil fuel sources, soaring prices, climate crisis and the need to utilize hitherto abundant biomass resources for energy and chemical feedstocks purposes in Nigeria. In this research, an experimental study on the bio-oil generated through slow pyrolysis of Jatropha curcas L. biomass residues – Jatropha curcas L. seed shell (JSS) and Jatropha curcas L. fruit hull (JFH) were realized in a fixed bed reactor at 450 ℃ in a batch-wise step, biomass sample (1.14 mm) particle size, designed by authors. The biomass samples were subjected to pretreatment with 4% sulphuric and sodium hydroxide solutions each respectively. The Chemical compositions and functional groups available in the bio-oil of both raw and pretreated biomasses obtained at 450 ℃ were investigated by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform- Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis respectively. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to look into the residual biomass surface morphology of pretreated and untreated Jatropha curcas L. waste of JSS and JFH. The results acquired disclosed that the bio-oil obtained from JSS and JFH might be a principal liquid fuel starting point and chemical feedstocks.

Understanding Seed Dormancy and Germination

Seeds are highly important part of living things, without which life would not exist. All of our daily necessities are totally dependent on seed and seed stock, like food and fruits, so also is many of the natural resources that we use as consumers such as, timber, cotton, paper, essential\edible oils, all which started their live as seeds. Basically, a seed consists of a tiny underdeveloped plant, the embryo, which is enclosed by a covering called the seed coat. Germination of seed occurs when the embryo grows into a functioning plant. It involves the rejuvenation of the metabolic pathways that lead to growth and the emergence of the radicle (root) and plumule (shoot). For germination to occur, three basic factors must exist, the seed must be viable, dormancy must be controlled and the proper environmental conditions for germination must be available. Dormancy simply means the inability of seeds to germinate even when the necessary environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, oxygen, and light) are favorable for germination. Dormancy is a principal factor restricting the production of crops. Several physical and chemical pretreatments can be applied to the organic material (seeds) to control dormancy. This review discusses the conditions necessary for germination and the fundamental factors necessary for breaking dormancy.

Comparison of the Thermal and Electrical Conductivities of Pretreated Kenaf–Polyester Composites

Conductivity of a material is an important physical property that determines its suitability or otherwise in all engineering designs and construction. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of two pretreatment methods viz acetylation and permanganate on the thermal and electrical conductivities of pretreated kenaf bast fibres applied in polyester resin. Fully grown kenaf (hibiscus cannabalis) were manually retted from the stalk, washed, and cut into short fibre lengths of about 10 cm. One portion of the fibres was pretreated with 5%pbw NaOH solution before immersing it in glacial acetic acid and then in acetic anhydride. The second was also pretreated with5%pbw of NaOH before being pretreated with 0.125%of KMnO4. The third portion of fibres was untreated to serve as control. The ground fibre was incorporated into ortho unsaturated polyester rand cast with moulds of dumb-belland square shapes. The electrical conductivity of the composites was deduced by measuring the resistance of the composites using the high voltage insulation tester model 3122 and calculating from equations. The thermal conductivities were determined by analytical method. The results show that chemical pretreatments of fibres by acetylation and permanganate methods have no appreciable effect on the thermal conductivities of composites. Further findings show that the acetylated fibre composites have no effect on the electrical conductivities of the composites. The permanganate pretreated fibre composites however increased the electrical conductivities of the composites significantly.

Agave By-Products: An Overview of Their Nutraceutical Value, Current Applications, and Processing Methods

Agave, commonly known as “maguey” is an important part of the Mexican tradition and economy, and is mainly used for the production of alcoholic beverages, such as tequila. Industrial exploitation generates by-products, including leaves, bagasse, and fibers, that can be re-valorized. Agave is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, fructans, and pectin, as well as simple carbohydrates. Regarding functional properties, fructans content makes agave a potential source of prebiotics with the capability to lower blood glucose and enhance lipid homeostasis when it is incorporated as a prebiotic ingredient in cookies and granola bars. Agave also has phytochemicals, such as saponins and flavonoids, conferring anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties, among other benefits. Agave fibers are used for polymer-based composite reinforcement and elaboration, due to their thermo-mechanical properties. Agave bagasse is considered a promising biofuel feedstock, attributed to its high-water efficiency and biomass productivity, as well as its high carbohydrate content. The optimization of physical and chemical pretreatments, enzymatic saccharification and fermentation are key for biofuel production. Emerging technologies, such as ultrasound, can provide an alternative to current pretreatment processes. In conclusion, agaves are a rich source of by-products with a wide range of potential industrial applications, therefore novel processing methods are being explored for a sustainable re-valorization of these residues.

Batch fermentation and Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) processes by Meyerozyma Guilliermondii Strain F22 and Saccharomyces cerecvisae for xylitol and bioethanol co-production

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of lignocellulosic materials in the development of bioproduct, biorefinery technologies have focused on process integration for the production of different valuable coproducts in order to reduce the overall processing cost. In this study, agricultural wastes from rice straw were used for the co-production of bioethanol and xylitol. Where bioethanol is produced from the cellulosic fraction and xylitol from the hemicellulose fraction after elimination of lignin using chemical pretreatments. The chemical treatment was carried out with diluted acid 2.5% at a 100 °C for 30 minutes , and then exposed the cellulosic fraction of the solid phase resulting from the chemical process to the enzymatic action of the fungus Trichoderma harzianum for releas sugars and fermented at a later stage using Saccharomyces cerecvisae for bioethanol production in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process, The liquid phase hemicellulose fraction was exposed to action of Meyerozyma guilliermondii strain F22 (Pichia guilliermondii) for xylitol production. Resulting was accomplished yielding maximum concentrations and product yield were 32.6 g/L 0.39g/g and 20.1 g/L, 0.44g/g for bioethanol and xylitol respectively of the total glucose and xylose available in rice straw, the co-production of xylitol with ethanol in an integrated biorefinery would create economic benefits making the overall lignocellulose-based process more cost effective

Bio-Delignification of Green Waste (GW) in Co-Digestion with the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) to Enhance Biogas Production

The organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is recognized as a suitable substrate for the anaerobic digestion (AD) process and is currently considered a mature technology. A promising strategy to enhance biogas yield and productivity is the co-digestion of OFMSW with other organic biomass, such as green waste (GW), a mixture of leaves, grass, and woody materials originated from private yards and public greenspace management. The main limitation to the use of GW for biogas production is the high percentage of the lignocellulosic fraction, which makes necessary a pretreatment of delignification to dissolve the recalcitrant structure. In this study, a new strategy of sustainable bio-delignification using the white-rot fungi Bjerkandera adusta (BA) in comparison with other chemical pretreatments were investigated. Untreated and treated GW were, respectively, submitted to anaerobic co-digestion with OFMSW. AD processes were carried out in a lab-scale plant for 30 days in thermophilic conditions (55 °C). Biogas cumulative production was increased by about 100% in the case of treated GW compared with that of just OFMSW, from 145 to 289 Nm3 CH4/ton SV, and productivity almost doubled from 145 to 283 Nm3/ton FM * day. The measured average methane content values in the cumulative biogas were 55% from OFMSW and 54% from GW. Moreover, over 95% of the biogas was produced in 20 days, showing the potential opportunity to reduce the AD time.