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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2021) | Viewed by 36560

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Prof. Dr. Malek Alkasrawi

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Paper Science and Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI 54481-3897, USA
Interests: biomass; lignocellulosic; biofuels; fermentation; enzymatic hydrolysis: pyrolysis; gasification
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to invite you to submit a manuscript to the upcoming Special Issue, “Technologies for Biofuels and Energy”. This Special Issue focuses on technically advanced technologies of biological and thermal conversion platforms for biofuel and energy production. For the topic of biological conversion platforms, manuscripts that focus on the microbial conversion of biomass into butanol, ethanol, hydrogen, and biogas are welcomed. For thermal conversion, contributions that focus on pyrolysis, gasification, solar PV, and torrefaction are highly encouraged. Manuscripts that report process simulations using advanced software such as AspenPLus and ChemCad would be advantageous. The novelty in your submitted manuscript must involve a unique production scheme, sustainable production, energy security, or circular economy with zero discharge.

Prof. Dr. Malek Alkasrawi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Lignocellulosic
Biological conversion
Thermal conversion
Biofuel sustainability

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 8496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pyrolysis of Solid Waste for Bio-Oil and Char Production in Refugees’ Camp: A Case Study

by Ebtihal A. AlDayyat, Motasem N. Saidan, Zayed Al-Hamamre, Mohammad Al-Addous and Malek Alkasrawi

Energies 2021, 14(13), 3861; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133861 - 27 Jun 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2987

Abstract

The current research focuses on assessing the potential of municipal solid waste (MSW) conversion into biofuel using pyrolysis process. The MSW samples were taken from Zaatari Syrian Refugee Camp. The physical and chemical characteristics of MSW were studied using proximate and elemental analysis. The results showed that moisture content of MSW is 32.3%, volatile matter (VM) is 67.99%, fixed carbon (FC) content is 5.46%, and ash content is 24.33%. The chemical analysis was conducted using CHNS analyzer and found that the percentage of elements contents: 46% Carbon (C) content, 12% Hydrogen (H₂), 2% Nitrogen (N₂), 44% Oxygen (O₂), and higher heat value (HHV) is 26.14 MJ/kg. The MSW pyrolysis was conducted using tubular fluidized bed reactor (FBR) under inert gas (Nitrogen) at 500 °C with 20 °C/min heating rate and using average particles size 5–10 mm. The products of MSW pyrolysis reaction were: pyrolytic liquid, solid char, and gaseous mixture. The pyrolytic oil and residual char were analyzed using Elemental Analyzer and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of FTIR showed that oil product has considerable amounts of alkenes, alkanes, and carbonyl groups due to high organic compounds contents in MSW. The elemental analysis results showed that oil product content consists of 55% C, 37% O₂, and the HHV is 20.8 MJ/kg. The elemental analysis of biochar showed that biochar content consists of 47% C, 49% O₂, and HHV is 11.5 MJ/kg. Further research is recommended to study the effects of parameters as reactor types and operating conditions to assess the feasibility of MSW pyrolysis, in addition to the environmental impact study which is necessary to identify and predict the relevant environmental effects of this process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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19 pages, 3612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High Purity/Recovery Separation of Propylene from Propyne Using Anion Pillared Metal-Organic Framework: Application of Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA)

by Majeda Khraisheh, Fares AlMomani and Gavin Walker

Energies 2021, 14(3), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14030609 - 25 Jan 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3234

Abstract

Propylene is one of the world’s most important basic olefin raw material used in the production of a vast array of polymers and other chemicals. The need for high purity grade of propylene is essential and traditionally achieved by the very energy-intensive cryogenic separation. In this study, a pillared inorganic anion SIF₆²⁻ was used as a highly selective C₃H₄ due to the square grid pyrazine-based structure. Single gas adsorption revealed a very high C₃H₄ uptake value (3.32, 3.12, 2.97 and 2.43 mmol·g⁻¹ at 300, 320, 340 and 360 K, respectively). The values for propylene for the same temperatures were 2.73, 2.64, 2.31 and 1.84 mmol·g⁻¹, respectively. Experimental results were obtained for the two gases fitted using Langmuir and Toth models. The former had a varied degree of representation of the system with a better presentation of the adsorption of the propylene compared to the propyne system. The Toth model regression offered a better fit of the experimental data over the entire range of pressures. The representation and fitting of the models are important to estimate the energy in the form of the isosteric heats of adsorption (Q_st), which were found to be 45 and 30 kJ·Kmol⁻¹ for propyne and propylene, respectively. A Higher Q_st value reveals strong interactions between the solid and the gas. The dynamic breakthrough for binary mixtures of C₃H₄/C₃H₆ (30:70 v/v)) were established. Heavier propylene molecules were eluted first from the column compared to the lighter propyne. Vacuum swing adsorption was best suited for the application of strongly bound materials in adsorbents. A six-step cycle was used for the recovery of high purity C₃H₄ and C₃H₆. The VSA system was tested with respect to changing blowdown time and purge time as well as energy requirements. It was found that the increase in purge time had an appositive effect on C₃H₆ recovery but reduced productivity and recovery. Accordingly, under the experimental conditions used in this study for VSA, the purge time of 600 s was considered a suitable trade-off time for purging. Recovery up to 99%, purity of 98.5% were achieved at a purge time of 600 s. Maximum achieved purity and recovery were 97.4% and 98.5% at 100 s blowdown time. Energy and power consumption varied between 63–70 kWh/ton at the range of purge and blowdown time used. The VSA offers a trade-off and cost-effective technology for the recovery and separation of olefins and paraffin at low pressure and high purity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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16 pages, 14270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Use of Machine Learning Methods for Predicting Amount of Bioethanol Obtained from Lignocellulosic Biomass with the Use of Ionic Liquids for Pretreatment

by Małgorzata Smuga-Kogut, Tomasz Kogut, Roksana Markiewicz and Adam Słowik

Energies 2021, 14(1), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010243 - 5 Jan 2021

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 4528

Abstract

The study objective was to model and predict the bioethanol production process from lignocellulosic biomass based on an example of empirical study results. Two types of algorithms were used in machine learning: artificial neural network (ANN) and random forest algorithm (RF). Data for the model included results of studying bioethanol production with the use of ionic liquids (ILs) and different enzymatic preparations from the following biomass types: buckwheat straw and biomass from four wastelands, including a mixture of various plants: stems of giant miscanthus, common nettle, goldenrod, common broom, fireweed, and hay (a mix of grasses). The input variables consisted of different ionic liquids (imidazolium and ammonium), enzymatic preparations, enzyme doses, time and temperature of pretreatment, and type of yeast for alcoholic fermentation. The output value was the bioethanol concentration. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) was used in the artificial neural networks. Two model types were created; the training dataset comprised 120 vectors (14 elements for Model 1 and 11 elements for Model 2). Assessment of the optimum random forest was carried out using the same division of experimental points (two random datasets, containing 2/3 for training and 1/3 for testing) and the same criteria used for the artificial neural network models. Data for mugwort and hemp were used for validation. In both models, the coefficient of determination for neural networks was <0.9, while for RF it oscillated around 0.95. Considering the fairly large spread of the determination coefficient, two hybrid models were generated. The use of the hybrid approach in creating models describing the present bioethanol production process resulted in an increase in the fit of the model to R² = 0.961. The hybrid model can be used for the initial classification of plants without the necessity to perform lengthy and expensive research related to IL-based pretreatment and further hydrolysis; only their lignocellulosic composition results are needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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12 pages, 3185 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption Characteristics and Potential of Olive Cake Alkali Residues for Biodiesel Purification

by Mohammad Alnaief, Arwa Sandouqa, Ibrahem Altarawneh, Mohammad Al-Shannag, Malek Alkasrawi and Zayed Al-hamamre

Energies 2021, 14(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010016 - 22 Dec 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2334

Abstract

Mediterranean countries produce up to 97% of the total global olive production. Besides being a serious environmental burden, olive mill waste represents a potential resource of useful materials for recovery and valorization. In this work, the adsorption characteristics and potential of bioadsorbent material manufactured by alkali treatment of olive cake was evaluated. The resultant bioadsorbent was able to purify biodiesel to meets both ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. Further, the sorption equilibrium was investigated at 25 °C. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms fit to the experimental data were evaluated by applying the non-linear Chi-square test. Freundlich and Temkin isotherms were shown to adequately described the adsorption isotherms of the produced bioadsorbent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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18 pages, 3061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Techno-Economic Investigation of an Integrated Boiler–Solar Water Heating/Cooling System: A Case Study

by Mohammad Al-Smairan, Moayyad Shawaqfah and Fares AlMomani

Energies 2021, 14(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010001 - 22 Dec 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3373

Abstract

With the increase in oil prices, developing nations end up paying expensive electricity and heating bill. This leading study investigates the experimental development of a new energy-saving system by integrating a solar water heater and solar cooling absorption cycle with a conventional boiler for domestic hot water and heating purposes. The heating and cooling load calculations for space heating of the building were calculated using TRNSYS 14.1 computer software and the results were used in calculating the energy-saving value. A 65 flat plate solar collector-chiller system with a total surface area of 130 m² was integrated with the boiler and used to supply heating and cooling for a three-story building (1500 m²) in Al Bayt University, Jordan. The integrated system helped to save energy, reduced the emission of CO₂ into the atmosphere, supplied hot water, and space heating/cooling requirements to the building year-round, and reduced the overall energy cost of heating and cooling by 55% and 48%, respectively. Moreover, the techno-economic analysis showed that the payback period of the combined system with a total cost of $18,650 is roughly 2.5-year. The solar water heating/cooling system has the potential to provide more than 50% of the house energy demand free of charge with a significant reduction in carbon footprint. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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34 pages, 4736 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy and Economic Analysis of Date Palm Biomass Feedstock for Biofuel Production in UAE: Pyrolysis, Gasification and Fermentation

by Remston Martis, Amani Al-Othman, Muhammad Tawalbeh and Malek Alkasrawi

Energies 2020, 13(22), 5877; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13225877 - 11 Nov 2020

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 6193

Abstract

This work evaluates date palm waste as a cheap and available biomass feedstock in UAE for the production of biofuels. The thermochemical and biochemical routes including pyrolysis, gasification, and fermentation were investigated. Simulations were done to produce biofuels from biomass via Aspen Plus v.10. The simulation results showed that for a tonne of biomass feed, gasification produced 56 kg of hydrogen and fermentation yielded 233 kg of ethanol. Process energy requirements, however, proved to offset the bioethanol product value. For 1 tonne of biomass feed, the net duty for pyrolysis was 37 kJ, for gasification was 725 kJ, and for fermentation was 7481.5 kJ. Furthermore, for 1 tonne of date palm waste feed, pyrolysis generated a returned USD $768, gasification generated USD 166, but fermentation required an expenditure of USD 763, rendering it unfeasible. The fermentation economic analysis showed that reducing the system’s net duty to 6500 kJ/tonne biomass and converting 30% hemicellulose along with the cellulose content will result in a breakeven bioethanol fuel price of 1.85 USD/L. This fuel price falls within the acceptable 0.8–2.4 USD/L commercial feasibility range and is competitive with bioethanol produced in other processes. The economic analysis indicated that pyrolysis and gasification are economically more feasible than fermentation. To maximize profits, the wasted hemicellulose and lignin from fermentation are proposed to be used in thermochemical processes for further fuel production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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11 pages, 1333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Single-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells’ Behavior at Different Operational Scenarios

by Sameer Al-Asheh, Yousef Al-Assaf and Ahmed Aidan

Energies 2020, 13(20), 5458; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13205458 - 19 Oct 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2380

Abstract

A Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a process in which a microorganism respires and captures the electrons that normally passes through the electron transport system of the organism and produces electricity. This work intends to present the different operating parameters affecting the efficiency of a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) process. To study the performance of the process, various materials for the cathode and anode rods with similar size and chape including, copper, aluminum, carbon cloth, steel and brass were considered to determine the combination that leads to the best results. Moreover, different oxidizing agents such as Copper Sulphate and Potassium Hexacyanoferrate were considered. Furthermore, the effects of shapes, sizes and distance between electrodes on the current and voltage were investigated. The power outputs between electrochemical and microbial cells were recorded. In addition, the power, whether expressed as voltage or current, was measured at different conditions and different cell combinations. The power is directly related to the area, volume of the bacterial solution and supplying air and stirring. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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15 pages, 4313 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Catalytic Electrochemical Water Splitting Using Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) Electrodes as a Promising Energy Resource and Storage Solution

by Yousef Al-Abdallat, Inshad Jumah, Rami Jumah, Hanadi Ghanem and Ahmad Telfah

Energies 2020, 13(20), 5265; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13205265 - 10 Oct 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2582

Abstract

The present study developed a new system of electrochemical water splitting using a boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode in the electrochemical reactor. The new method assessed the electrical current, acidity (pH), electrical conductivity, absorbance, dissipation, and splitting energies in addition to the water splitting efficiency of the overall process. Employing CuO NPs and ZnO NPs as catalysts induced a significant impact in reducing the dissipated energy and in increasing the efficiency of splitting water. Specifically, CuO NPs showed a significant enhancement in reducing the dissipated energy and in keeping the electrical current of the reaction stable. Meanwhile, the system catalyzed with ZnO NPs induced a similar impact as that for CuO NPs at a lower rate only. The energy dissipation rates in the system were found to be 48% and 65% by using CuO and ZnO NPs, respectively. However, the dissipation rate for the normalized system without catalysis (water buffer at pH = 6.5) is known to be 100%. The energy efficiency of the system was found to be 25% without catalysis, while it was found to be 82% for the system catalyzed with ZnO NPs compared to that for CuO NPs (normalized to 100%). The energy dissipated in the case of the non-catalyzed system was found to be the highest. Overall, water splitting catalyzed with CuO NPs exhibits the best performance under the applied experimental conditions by using the BDD/Niobium (Nb) electrodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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12 pages, 406 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Paper Mill Sludge as a Source of Sugars for Use in the Production of Bioethanol and Isoprene

by Shona M. Duncan, Malek Alkasrawi, Raghu Gurram, Fares Almomani, Amy E Wiberley-Bradford and Eric Singsaas

Energies 2020, 13(18), 4662; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13184662 - 8 Sep 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3680

Abstract

Paper mill sludge (PMS) solids are predominantly comprised of cellulosic fibers and fillers rejected during the pulping or paper making process. Most sludges are dewatered and discharged into landfills or land spread at a cost to the mill; creating large economic and environmental burdens. This lignocellulosic residual stream can be used as a source of sugars for microbial fermentation to renewable chemicals. The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of converting mill sludge to sugars and then fermentation to either isoprene or ethanol. Chemical analysis indicated that the cellulosic fiber composition between 28 to 68% and hemicellulose content ranged from 8.4 to 10.7%. Calcium carbonate concentration in the sludge ranged from 0.4 to 34%. Sludge samples were enzyme hydrolyzed to convert cellulose fibers to glucose, percent conversion ranged from 10.5 to 98%. Calcium carbonate present with the sludge resulted in low hydrolysis rates; washing of sludge with hydrochloric acid to neutralize the calcium carbonate, increased hydrolysis rates by 50 to 88%. The production of isoprene “very low” (190 to 470 nmol) because the isoprene yields were little. Using an industrial yeast strain for fermentation of the sludge sugars obtained from all sludge samples, the maximum conversion efficiency was achieved with productivity ranging from 0.18 to 1.64 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹. Our data demonstrates that PMS can be converted into sugars that can be fermented to renewable chemicals for industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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14 pages, 2779 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economic Study of Solar Chimney Power-Water Distillation Plant (SCPWDP)

by Emad Abdelsalam, Feras Kafiah, Malek Alkasrawi, Ismael Al-Hinti and Ahmad Azzam

Energies 2020, 13(11), 2789; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13112789 - 1 Jun 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4234

Abstract

This work provides technical and economic feasibility of installing a solar chimney power-water distillation plant (SCPWDP) in the port of Aqaba in Jordan. A mathematical model for the SCPWDP has been developed and validated. A full year of weather conditions data has been processed, where water and electricity productions have been estimated. The results show that the SCPWDP can produce 481,440 kWh of electricity and 123,753 ton of distilled water yearly simultaneously. The economic analysis shows that the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for the SCPWDP is $1.86/kWh. The cost estimate seems reasonable once compared with other studies. However, from economical point of view the LCOE of SCPWDP requires a further decrease in order to make it economically feasible. The sensitivity analysis shows that increasing the chimney height of the SCPWDP would increase the production of electricity, and hence, decreases the LCOE. However, increasing the chimney height would have a marginal improvement since it increases both capital and operation expenditures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technologies for Biofuels and Energy)

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