An economic and environmental assessment of biomass utilization in lignite‐fired power plants of Greece

The environmental and socio‐economic impacts of biomass utilization by co‐firing with brown coal in an existing thermoelectric unit in Greece or through its pure combustion in a new plant were studied and evaluated in this work. The 125 MW_e lignite‐fired power plant in Ptolemais Power Station (Western Macedonia) was used as reference system. The environmental benefits of the alternative biomass exploitation options were quantified based on the life cycle assessment methodology, as established by SETAC, while the BIOSEM technique was used to carry out socio‐economic calculations. The obtained results showed clear environmental benefits of both biomass utilization alternatives in comparison with the reference system. In addition, co‐firing biomass with lignite in an existing unit outperforms the combustion of biomass exclusively in a new plant, since it exhibits a better environmental performance and it is a low risk investment with immediate benefits. A biomass combustion unit requires a considerably higher capital investment and its benefits are more evident in the long run. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of forest and bioenergy strategies in the global carbon cycle

Forest and bioenergy strategies offer the prospect of reduced CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. Such strategies can affect the net flux of carbon to the atmosphere through 4 mechanisms: storage of C in the biosphere; storage of C in forest products; use of biofuels to displace fossil-fuel use; use of wood products which often displaces other products that require more fossil fuel for their production. We use the mathematical model GORCAM (Graz/Oak Ridge Carbon Accounting Model) to examine these mechanisms for 16 land-use scenarios. Over long time intervals the amount of C stored in the biosphere and in forest products reaches a steady state and continuing mitigation of C emissions depends on the extent to which fossil fuel use is displaced by the use of bioenergy and wood products. The relative effectiveness of alternative forest and bioenergy strategies and their impact on net C emissions strongly depend, for example, on the productivity of the site, its current usage, and the efficiency with which the harvest is used. When growth rates are high and harvest is used efficiently, the dominant opportunity for net reduction in C emissions is seen to be fossil-fuel displacement. At the growth rates and efficiencies of harvest utilization adopted in many of our base scenarios, the net C balance at the end of 100 years is very similar whether trees are harvested and used for energy and traditional forest products, or reforestation and forest protection strategies are implemented. The C balance on a plantation system that provides a constant output of biomass products can look different than the balance of a single parcel of land.     

Anaerobic digestion of alkaline black liquor using an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor

The anaerobic digestion of alkaline black liquor from a cereal straw pulping mill was studied in batch (serum bottles) and continuous systems (up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor—UASB). The batch digestion studies confirmed that lignin and related compounds (LRC) in the alkaline black liquor were the main inhibitory substances and could not be decomposed by anaerobic bacteria. At organic loading rates of 5–10 kg COD m^?3 day^?1, the UASB reactor achieved 50–60% COD removal efficiencies. Gas production was 2–3 dm³ per dm³ of alkaline black liquor. Two different sludge types were examined in the reactor: granular and cluster-like sludges. Sludge in a cluster, which involved many small granules and flocs, tended to form larger aggregates and possessed good settling ability.     

非贵金属催化5-羟甲基糠醛选择氧化的研究进展

5-羟甲基糠醛（HMF）作为一种连接生物质资源和精细化学品工业的多功能平台化合物,因含有醛基、羟甲基而具有非常活泼的化学性质。HMF催化选择氧化在生物质转化过程中具有十分重要的意义,近年来受到研究者们的广泛关注。其氧化产物如2,5-呋喃二甲醛（DFF）和2,5-呋喃二甲酸（FDCA）都是具有高附加值的精细化学品,可用于抗菌剂、医药中间体、合成聚酯等方面。非贵金属催化剂因具备低成本、资源丰富以及环境友好的优势,用于HMF选择氧化的相关报道已逐渐增多。阐述了HMF选择氧化的催化反应机理,着重从非贵金属催化剂的角度出发,对近年来HMF的不同催化氧化体系进行了总结和归纳。最后,展望了HMF选择氧化的研究前景,为构建绿色、高效的催化体系提供思路和参考。     

木质素液化研究进展

介绍了木质素的液化、液化产物的改良的方法及其研究进展,对将来研究发展方向以及目前面临的一些问题作了简要的叙述。     

Methane Transport Capacity of Rice Plants. II. Variations Among Different Rice Cultivars and Relationship with Morphological Characteristics

Of the total methane (CH4) emitted from a rice field during the growing season 60–90% is emitted through the rice plants. We determined the methane transport capacity (MTC) of rice plants at different physiological growth stages using an automatic measuring system under greenhouse conditions. A total of 12 cultivars (10 inbred varieties and 2 hybrids) were studied in sets of two experiments and was distinguished into three groups according to the patterns of MTC development. MTC is generally increasing from seedling stage to panicle initiation (PI), but differs in the development from PI to maturity. While the hybrid showed a gradual increase in MTC, the inbred cultivars showed either minor changes in MTC or a drastic decrease from flowering to maturity. Among tall cultivars, Dular showed the highest MTC, followed by B40; the lowest MTC was found in Intan. High-yielding dwarf cultivars showed MTC in the descending order of IR72 > IR52 > IR64 > PSBRc 20. New plant type cultivars showed very low MTC with IR65600 exhibiting the smallest MTC at PI, flowering, and maturity. Hybrids (Magat and APHR 2) showed the largest MTC that continued to increased with plant growth. The MTC patterns were attributed to growth parameters and the development of morphological characteristics of the aerenchyma. These results suggest that in tall, dwarf, and NPT cultivars, increase in root or aboveground biomass during initial growth determines a corresponding increase in MTC. Once aerenchyma has fully developed, further increase in plant biomass would not influence MTC. However, in the case of hybrids, a positive relationship of MTC with root + shoot biomass (r = 0.672, p 0.05) and a total plant biomass including grain (r = 0.849, p 0.01) indicate continuous development of aerenchyma with plant growth, resulting in enhanced MTC. In all cultivars, tiller number, but not height, was linearly related to MTC, indicating that the number of outlets/channels rather than plant size/biomass determines the transport of CH₄. These results clearly demonstrate that rice cultivars differ significantly in MTC. Therefore, the use of high-yielding cultivars with low MTC (for example, PSBRc 20, IR65598, and IR65600) could be an economically feasible, environmentally sound, and promising approach to mitigate CH₄ emissions from rice fields.     

生物质转化的共性问题研究——生物质科学与工程学的建立与发展

生物质资源的高值转化是研究热点。由于现有的生物质利用技术存在的技术单一,缺乏系统性理论指导等问题,导致原料利用率低,经济效益差,难以实现工业化生产,迫切需要建立新的理论体系。通过深入分析生物质转化过程中的共性问题,在综合多学科知识的基础上,提出了生物质科学与工程学这一理念,从生物质原料工程学,生物质转化过程工程学和生物质产品工程学三方面对生物质利用技术进行了全面、系统的研究,为生物质类可再生资源的高值化利用提供了新的研究思路。     

Biomass pyrolysis in a circulating fluid bed reactor for the production of fuels and chemicals

An approach for biomass flash pyrolysis in a circulating fluid bed (CFB) reactor with continuous solids regeneration is described in this study. The unit is capable of performing conventional and catalytic biomass pyrolysis with the proper solid selection. The production of improved quality liquid products in a direct step through catalytic pyrolysis is investigated in this work. Both conventional and catalytic biomass pyrolysis can be effectively performed in this CFB unit. Flash pyrolysis conditions were achieved and liquid product yields of ∼70 wt% (on biomass feed) were obtained. The effect of specific operating variables including the type of inorganic solid material and the solid/biomass ratio was established on the final liquid product quality and yield. Solid materials considered included silica sand, a commercial fluid catalytic cracking catalyst and a ZSM-5 additive. Catalytic biomass pyrolysis generally leads to the production of additional water, coke and gases compared to conventional pyrolysis. However, the obtained liquid product quality and composition is improved.     

林业生物质热化学转化利用研究现状

生物质是唯一可转化成常规的固态、液态和气态燃料以及其它化工原料或产品的可再生碳资源.随着化石能源的枯竭和人类对全球性环境问题的关注,生物质资源以其可再生、资源丰富、分布广泛、CO₂零排放等优点日益成为国内外众多学者研究的热点.热化学高效转化利用技术的研究是生物质能源开发利用的最主要途径.作者对近年来国内外生物质热化学转化技术的最近研究进展进行综述,从我国实际情况出发,对生物质能源热化学转化的发展趋势进行预测,提出我国生物质能源研究开发利用的发展前景和建议.     

江苏省耐盐生物质能源植物选育和生物柴油制备研究

江苏省有近67万公顷沿海盐土滩涂资源,发展适应这些土地资源的油料植物对促进江苏省生物质能的产业化具有极大的促进作用.本研究针对江苏省土地资源的特点,自2001年,从江苏盐城种植了近10年的美国耐盐油料植物海滨锦葵6万株自然群体中筛选了40个优良单株,并进行了子代测定.目前已经初步选育出了海滨锦葵优良无性系,含油量从原群体平均的18 %提高到23 %.2005年首次从耐盐油料植物海滨锦葵中成功获得生物柴油实验室样品,并已经得到中石化权威机构检测数据.