Production of bio-ethanol from an innovative mixture of surgical waste cotton and waste card board after ammonia pre-treatment

Ethanol production from waste biomass using a slightly modified bio-refinery approach was performed in this work to cater to the increasing need of alternate fuels and fuel additives globally. A surgical waste cotton and waste packaging cardboard mixture after a 15% v/v ammonia pre-treatment showed 70% lignin removal. An optimized saccharification using In-house Cellulases produced from Trichoderma harzanium ATCC 20846 had a percentage saccharification of 45% and percentage yield saccharification of 94.6%. An optimized fermentation using Saccharomyces cereviseae strain RW143 resulted in the yield of 0.4 g ethanol/g glucose from the 15% (v/v) glucose in the enzymatically saccharified hydrolysate loaded. The distilled ethanol had 90% (v/v) concentration and180 proof (twice the amount of concentration percentage in v/v) purity. 1 kg biomass mixture when processed as mentioned would yield 120 mL ethanol. Two diesel-ethanol blends (E-10 and E-20) and a commercial Diesel control were used to rate an IC engine’s brake power.     

Characteristics of hydrochar and liquid fraction from hydrothermal carbonization of cassava rhizome

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of cassava rhizome (CR) was performed to investigate the effect of process parameters including temperature, time, and biomass to water ratio (BTW) on characteristics of hydrochar and liquid fraction products. The effect of temperature was two-fold. First, an increase in reaction temperature from 160 to 180 °C decreased hydrochar yield from 54 to 51%, however, a further increase of temperature from 180 to 200 °C saw an increase in the hydrochar yield to 58%. This was associated to degradation, polymerization, and condensation reactions during HTC. The hydrogen/carbon and oxygen/carbon atomic ratios decreased from 1.4 and 0.6 at 160 °C to 1.2 and 0.4 at 200 °C, respectively. The liquid fraction contained various valuable chemical species including, glucose, furan compounds, (furfural, furfuryl alcohol, hydroxymethylfurfural), volatile fatty acid (succinic acid, lactic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, levulinic acid, and propionic acid) with their highest yields (wt.% dry raw material) of 4.5, 18.5, and 24.3, respectively.     

Performance of a stationary diesel engine using loofah (Luffa cylindrica,L.) biodiesel

A stationary diesel engine using loofah ethyl ester (biodiesel) was studied and evaluated. Loofah biodiesel was obtained by reacting loofah oil with ethanol in a two-step transesterification process. The loofah biodiesel produced from ethyl esters was blended with automotive gas oil at 0–20% mix with 5% increment of loofah ethyl esters. The performance of a constant speed, stationary 2.46 kW diesel engine was evaluated using loofah biodiesel at five loading conditions (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of full load). The engine torque, speed, exhaust gas temperature, brake-specific fuel consumption, the brake thermal efficiency and fuel equivalent power ranged from 1.47 to 8.47 Nm, 1300–1500 rev/min, 65–420 °C, 526.24–684.99 g/kWh, 21.91–27.1% and 51.35–33.24%, respectively, when using all the loofah biodiesel samples at all loading conditions. Loofah biodiesel is suitable to fuel a diesel engine.     

Utilization possibilities of Albizia amara as a source of biomass energy for bio-oil in pyrolysis process

Pyrolysis is one of the potential routes to harmless energy and useful chemicals from biomass. The pyrolysis of Albizia amara was studied for determining the main characteristics and quantities of liquid products. Particular investigated process variables were temperature from 350 to 550°C, particle size from 0.6 to 1.25 mm, and heating rate from 10 to 30 °C/min. The maximum bio-oil yield of 48.5 wt% at the pyrolysis temperature of 450°C was obtained at the particle size of 1.0 mm and at the heating rate of 30 °C/min. The bio-oil product was analyzed for physical, elemental, and chemical composition using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography spectroscopy. The bio-oil contains mostly phenols, alkanes, alkenes, saturated fatty acids and their derivatives. According to the experimental results, the pyrolysis bio-oil can be used as low-grade fuel having heating value of 18.63 MJ/kg and feedstock for chemical industries.     

Bio-oil production from hydrothermal liquefaction of waste Cyanophyta biomass: Influence of process variables and their interactions on the product distributions

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of waste Cyanophyta biomass at different temperatures (factor A, 260–420 °C), times (factor B, 5–75 min) and algae/water (a/w) ratios (factor C, 0.02–0.3) by single reaction condition and Response Surface Method (RSM) experiments was investigated. By single reaction condition runs, maximum total bio-oil yield (29.24%) was obtained at 350 °C, 60 min and 0.25 a/w ratio. Maximum bio-oil HHV of 40.04 MJ/kg and energy recovery of 51.09% was achieved at 350 °C, 30 min, 0.1 a/w ratio and 350 °C, 60 min, 0.25 a/w ratio, respectively. RSM results indicate that effect of AB interaction was significant on light bio-oil yield. Both AC and AB had more remarkable influence than BC on heavy bio-oil yield and aqueous total organic carbon (TOC) recovery whereas BC was noticeable on ammonia nitrogen (NH₃N) recovery in aqueous products. By model-based optimization of highest bio-oil yield, the highest bio-oil yield reached 31.79%, increasing by 8.72% after RSM optimization, and light and heavy bio-oil yield was 17.44% and 14.35%, respectively. Long-chain alkanes, alkenes, ketones, fatty acids, phenols, benzenes, amides, naphthalenes were the main components in light bio-oil. Some alcohols, phenols and aromatics were primarily found in heavy bio-oil. Solid residue after HTL consisted of numerous microparticles (～5 μm) observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) analysis shows these particles primarily contained C, O, Mg, P and microelements, derived from Cyanophyta cells.     

生物油/柴油乳化燃料用于柴油机的试验研究

为研究生物油/柴油乳化燃料作为柴油机燃料的性能,通过添加适量乳化剂配制成乳化燃料并在柴油机上燃用,分析了乳化燃料的燃烧特性、经济性、排放特性及对柴油机的影响.结果表明:生物油与柴油可以通过乳化形成较稳定的乳化燃料且可将其用于柴油机,但燃油消耗率比柴油高,热效率比单一柴油低;CH和CO排放增加,NO_x排放降低;使用一段时间后,供油管路中的橡胶密封件出现溶胀效应,排放因喷油器被磨蚀而随时间呈非正常变化.试验对进一步研究生物油在柴油机上的应用具有重要意义.     

普通柴油机燃用乳化型混合柴油的负荷特性研究

将生物燃油(玉米秸秆经过高温裂解制取)、0#柴油、司班80乳化剂进行不同比例的混合,经超声乳化,配制了三种乳化型混合柴油B10、B20、B30。对普通柴油发动机燃用三种乳化型混合柴油和0#柴油分别作负荷特性测试,绘制相应的负荷特性曲线。试验发现,普通柴油机燃用B10、B20、B30时运转正常;燃用B10、B20时的油耗量和油耗率比0#柴油略高,但在部分工况下基本持平;燃用B30时的经济性较差;乳化型混合柴油有助于降低发动机排放,环保效果明显。建议将生物燃油与柴油混合乳化以适应普通柴油发动机时,前者的添加比例不宜过大。     

Evaluation of esterified pyrolysis bio-oil as a diesel alternative

Refined pyrolysis bio-oil was produced via the pretreatment and esterification of pyrolysis bio-oil over 732-type ion-exchange resin. The main parameters of fuel property such as components, low calorific value and viscosity of refined pyrolysis bio-oil were analyzed. Different volume fractions of refined pyrolysis bio-oil were added to neat diesel to prepare bio-fuel blends. Combustion performances and emission characteristics of engine fueled with bio-fuel blends were analyzed at various loads. The results show that after esterification, the amount of esters and ketones in the crude pyrolysis bio-oil was significantly increased while the contents of acids, phenols and ethers were reduced. Compared with crude pyrolysis bio-oil, the pH value of refined pyrolysis bio-oil was improved to 5.6, the low calorific value increased by 14.89%, and the kinematic viscosity decreased by 10.13%. At the same load, the equivalent brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of bio-fuel blends was increased, the maximum cylinder pressures and the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) were both decreased but the peak of instantaneous heat release was increased slightly, and the exhaust gas temperatures also rose up. With the increase of refined pyrolysis bio-oil in bio-fuel blends, the difference between bio-fuel blends and neat diesel in the above indicators was more obvious. Besides, bio-fuel blends produced more HC, CO and smoke emissions but less NO_x emissions than neat diesel.     

Hydrogen effects on the diesel engine performance and emissions

In this research, effects of hydrogen addition on a diesel engine were investigated in terms of engine performance and emissions for four cylinders, water cooled diesel engine. Hydrogen was added through the intake port of the diesel engine. Hydrogen effects on the diesel engine were investigated with different amount (0.20, 0.40, 0.60 and 0.80 lpm) at different engine load (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% load) and the constant speed, 1800 rpm. When hydrogen amount is increased for all engine loads, it is observed an increase in brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency due to mixture formation and higher flame speed of hydrogen gas according to the results. For the 0.80 lpm hydrogen addition, exhaust temperature and NOx increased at higher loads. CO, UHC and SOOT emissions significantly decreased for hydrogen gas as additional fuel at all loads. In this study, higher decrease on SOOT emissions (up to 0.80lpm) was obtained. In addition, for 0.80 lpm hydrogen addition, the dramatic increase in NOx emissions was observed.     

生物油替代动力燃油的研究

生物质快速热裂解制取的生物油在利用过程中具有低污染排放等优点,有潜力成为常规燃料的重要替代品之一.分析由生物质流化床分级冷凝快速热裂解试验装置所产生物油的理化性质,它具有粘度大、热值低、含氧高、含水多、呈酸性等特性,在锅炉、柴油发动机等的燃烧器中应用会出现阻塞、磨损、腐蚀等问题,需要提升其品质.通过催化加氢和催化裂化等改性手段,可以从本质上改变生物油的理化特性,使之真正成为常规汽油或柴油的替代品.     

In-situ catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived vapors using HZSM-5 and MCM-41: Effects of mixing ratios on bio-oil preparation

In this paper, two molecular sieves with different pore sizes, namely HZSM-5 and MCM-41, were mixed using different ratios and used in the in-situ catalytic pyrolysis of rape straw. The effects of different HZSM -5 and MCM -41 mixing ratios on the quality of the bio-oil were studied by physicochemical properties, product yields and compositions. Moreover, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) catalyst analysis was performed. The results showed that the liquid yield and organic phase decreased first and then increased, whereas the gas yield showed an opposite trend. The density, O/C and kinematic viscosity of the bio-oil organic phase decreased first then increased, whereas the H/C, pH values and higher heating values initially increased, then declined. The oxygen content, H/C, O/C, kinematic viscosity, density, higher heating value and pH value of the bio-oil organic phase obtained at 1:1 mixed ratio were 12.81%, 1.701, 0.126, 5.06 mm²/s, 0.94 g/cm³, 34.31 MJ/kg and 5.41, respectively. The organic phase included numerous organic compounds, such as carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers and esters. The hydrocarbon content in the bio-oil organic phase gradually increased and the carbonyl groups content gradually decreased as the MCM-41 content increased from 0 to 50%. In contrast, the hydrocarbon content gradually decreased and the carbonyl groups content gradually increased as the MCM-41 content increased from 50% to 100%. The hydrocarbon and carbonyl groups contents were 53.83% and 6.35%, respectively, at the MCM-41 content of 50%. The mixed catalyst activity increased with the increase in MCM-41 content (up to 50%), and tended to be stable once the MCM-41 contents surpassed 50%.     

Effect of some BED blends on the equivalence ratio, exhaust oxygen fraction and water and oil temperature of a diesel engine

Nowadays, natural-based oxygenated fuels, especially biodiesel and ethanol, have been considered as substitutes for fossil fuels. Because of relatively lower energy content of oxygenated fuels, it is necessary to blend them with fossil ones. In this research, authors conducted an investigation on some BED blends to determine and compare their effects on equivalence ratio, exhaust oxygen fraction and water and oil temperature in a diesel engine. For this purpose, 18 different blendes of ethanol and biodiesel with net diesel fuel were tested in a MT4-244 engine¹ considering two engine speeds in full load condition. In almost all samples the equivalence ratio decreased with increasing of biodiesel and ethanol percents. Exhaust oxygen fraction in all of samples increased with increasing of biodiesel and ethanol percents, whereas the engine water and oil temperatures slightly reduced.     

Comparative techno-economic analysis of biohydrogen production via bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming

This paper evaluates the economic feasibility of biohydrogen production via two bio-oil processing pathways: bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming. Both pathways employ fast pyrolysis to produce bio-oil from biomass stock. The two pathways are modeled using Aspen Plus^® for a 2000 t d⁻¹ facility. Equipment sizing and cost calculations are based on Aspen Economic Evaluation® software. Biohydrogen production capacity at the facility is 147 t d⁻¹ for the bio-oil gasification pathway and 160 t d⁻¹ for the bio-oil reforming pathway. The biomass-to-fuel energy efficiencies are 47% and 84% for the bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming pathways, respectively. Total capital investment (TCI) is 435 million dollars for the bio-oil gasification pathway and is 333 million dollars for the bio-oil reforming pathway. Internal rates of return (IRR) are 8.4% and 18.6% for facilities employing the bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming pathways, respectively. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that biohydrogen price, biohydrogen yield, fixed capital investment (FCI), bio-oil yield, and biomass cost have the greatest impacts on facility IRR. Monte-Carlo analysis shows that bio-oil reforming is more economically attractive than bio-oil gasification for biohydrogen production.     

Performance and emission characteristics of a turpentine–diesel dual fuel engine

This paper describes an experimental study concerning the feasibility of using bio-oil namely turpentine obtained from the resin of pine tree. The emission and performance characteristics of a D.I. diesel engine were studied through dual fuel (DF) mode. Turpentine was inducted as a primary fuel through induction manifold and diesel was admitted into the engine through conventional fueling device as an igniter. The result showed that except volumetric efficiency, all other performance and emission parameters are better than those of diesel fuel with in 75% load. The toxic gases like CO, UBHC are slightly higher than that of the diesel baseline (DBL). Around 40–45% smoke reduction is obtained with DF mode. The pollutant No_x is found to be equal to that of DBL except at full load. This study has proved that approximately 75% diesel replacement with turpentine is possible by DF mode with little engine modification.     

Investigations on the influence of ethanol and water injection techniques on engine's behavior of a hydrogen - biofuel based dual fuel engine

This work explores the influence of hydrogen and ethanol on improving engine's behavior of Maduca longifolia oil (MO) based dual fuel diesel engine. A mono cylinder diesel engine was tested in dual fuel mode of operation at the rated power output of 3.7 kW under variable hydrogen energy shares from 0 to the maximum allowable limit (until severe knocking i.e. upto 20%). The knock limit was further extended by injecting water and ethanol at the intake manifold and the engine's performance, emission and combustion characteristics were analyzed. In addition ethanol was also injected and introduced along with the intake air for comparison with hydrogen dual fuel mode. Dual fuel operation increased the BTE from 25.2% with neat MO to a maximum of 28.5% and 30% respectively with hydrogen and ethanol for the energy share of 15% and 38% where as the BTE was 30.8% with ND. The smoke opacity was reduced from 78% with neat MO to 58% for the hydrogen energy share of 15% which is the MEP (maximum efficiency point) whereas the smoke emission was noted as 51% with ND operation. However, hydrogen induction increased the NO (nitric oxide) emission. Injection of water and ethanol at the inlet was observed to extend the knocking limit with improved BTE. The BTE reached a maximum of 30.1% with 5% water and 30.8% with 10% ethanol injection. The MEPs were arrived as 31% and 30% hydrogen energy shares respectively with 5% water and 10% ethanol injection. It was concluded that hydrogen induction can be very effective in improving the diesel engine's performance when using MO as base fuel when operating on dual fuel mode. The performance could be improved by extending the knock limit by injecting ethanol and water along with hydrogen.     

乙醇/柴油不同掺醇途径的性能对比

为了对乙醇/柴油混合燃料的应用和研究获取更全面的认识,在增压柴油机上对比了燃用纯柴油时与泵掺法(高压油泵掺醇)、化醇法和蒸气法(进气道掺醇)对排放性能的影响.研究结果表明,泵掺法的当量燃油消耗率优于原机;化醇法和蒸气法在低、中负荷范围内的当量燃油消耗率增大,在中、大负荷范围内接近原机水平,泵掺法的HC排放较原机有一定的增加;CO排放在小负荷工况略有上升,大负荷时明显低于原机;NO_x排放有所下降,排气烟度显著降低,化醇法和蒸气法与原机比较,在所有工况的HC、CO排放均大幅上升;NO_x排放降低的幅度不大,排气烟度有一定的降低.高压油泵掺醇方式对增压柴油机性能的改善效果明显优于进气道掺醇方式。     

Biohydrogen production from Imperata cylindrica bio-oil using non-stoichiometric and thermodynamic model

This paper presents a non-stoichiometric and thermodynamic model for steam reforming of Imperata cylindrica bio-oil for biohydrogen production. Thermodynamic analyses of major bio-oil components such as formic acid, propanoic acid, oleic acid, hexadecanoic acid and octanol produced from fast pyrolysis of I. cylindrica was examined. Sensitivity analyses of the operating conditions; temperature (100–1000 °C), pressure (1–10 atm) and steam to fuel ratio (1–10) were determined. The results showed an increase in biohydrogen yield with increasing temperature although the effect of pressure was negligible. Furthermore, increase in steam to fuel ratio favoured biohydrogen production. Maximum yield of 60 ± 10% at 500–810 °C temperature range and steam to fuel ratio 5–9 was obtained for formic acid, propanoic acid and octanol. The heavier components hexadecanoic and oleic acid maximum hydrogen yield are 40% (740 °C and S/F = 9) and 43% (810 °C and S/F = 8) respectively. However, the effect of pressure on biohydrogen yield at the selected reforming temperatures was negligible. Overall, the results of the study demonstrate that the non-stoichiometry and thermodynamic model can successfully predict biohydrogen yield as well as the composition of gas mixtures from the gasification and steam reforming of bio-oil from biomass resources. This will serve as a useful guide for further experimental works and process development.     

Influence of water on exhaust emissions on unmodified diesel engine propelled with biodiesel

The present work aims to investigate the effect of water addition to orange peel oil biodiesel (BD100) in a diesel engine to reduce the exhaust emissions. Fuel samples are prepared with different concentrations of water into biodiesel, 95% biodiesel + 5% water (BD95W5) and 90% orange peel oil biodiesel + 10% water (BD90W10). The water is added to biodiesel in presence of surfactant (Span-80). The experimental investigation on diesel engine reveals that the oxides of nitrogen emission and smoke emission are reduced for BD95W5 and BD90W10 compared to BD100 and diesel. In addition, the introduction of water to biodiesel in diesel engine reduces the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions noticeably.     

Hydrothermal catalytic liquefaction mechanisms of agal biomass to bio-oil

The liquefaction mechanisms of the algal biomass to bio-oil were investigated by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. It was found that NaOH was a satisfactory catalyst and contributed to helping the liquefaction of algal biomass. The bio-oil from algal biomass was composed of many compounds, including carbohydrates, alcohol, hydroxybenzene, carboxylic acid, alkene, ester, and others. The mechanism of hydrothermal catalytic liquefaction was discussed. It was found that, comparing with the husk bio-fuel, the algal bio-oil as a promising alternative fuel was more close to the traditional diesel fuel in physicochemical properties. The novel research outcomes contribute to improving the yield of bio-oil from microalgae, reducing the cost of the bio-oil and accelerating the commercial application of the algal bio-oil in the near future.     

Potentiality of combined catalyst for high quality bio-oil production from catalytic pyrolysis of pinewood using an analytical Py-GC/MS and fixed bed reactor

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of combined catalyst (ZSM-5 and CaO) for high quality bio-oil production from the catalytic pyrolysis of pinewood sawdust that was performed in Py-GC/MS and fixed bed reactor at 500 °C. In Py-GC/MS, the maximum yield of aromatic hydrocarbon was 36 wt% at biomass to combined catalyst ratio of 1:4 where the mass ratio of ZSM-5 to CaO in the combined catalyst was 4:1. An increasing trend of phenolic compounds was observed with an increasing amount of CaO, whereas the highest yield of phenolic compounds (31 wt%) was recorded at biomass to combined catalyst ratio of 1:4 (ZSM-5: CaO - 4:1). Large molecule compounds could be found to crack into small molecules over CaO and then undergo further reactions over zeolites. The water content, higher heating value, and acidity of bio-oil from the fixed bed reactor were 21%, 24.27 MJkg⁻¹, and 4.1, respectively, which indicates that the quality of obtained bio-oil meets the liquid biofuel standard ASTM D7544-12 for grade G biofuel. This research will provide a significant reference to produce a high-quality bio-oil from the catalytic pyrolysis of woody biomass over the combined catalyst at different mass ratios of biomass to catalyst.