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5.1
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Journals
Processes
Special Issues
Biomass Pretreatment for Thermochemical Conversion
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Biomass Pretreatment for Thermochemical Conversion

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2025 | Viewed by 4836

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carmen Branca

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Guest Editor
Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie per l’Energia e la Mobilità Sostenibili (STEMS), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli，Italy
Interests: pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion of biomass; flammability of synthetic and natural polymers and composite materials; kinetic modelling of biomass pyrolysis and combustion; composition, properties, and reactivity of pyrolysis products (bio-oil and biochar); biomass torrefaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Antonio Galgano

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Interests: biomass; thermochemical conversion processes; transport phenomena; computational modeling; biorefinery; response to fire of polymers and composite materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass fuels are recognized as renewable sources that may be converted to biofuels, chemicals, and heat and power through chemical and thermal conversion. Feedstock variability is a serious barrier to scaling up and commercialization. Further serious adverse factors are related to various inherent biomass properties, such as high moisture level; low bulk density; irregular shape and size; hydrophilic nature; low calorific value; and significant contents of problematic constituents, including sulphur, chlorine, alkalis, nitrogen, and heavy metals. To overcome these drawbacks, physical, thermal, and chemical methods of pretreatment are proposed (grinding, densification, demineralization, dry and wet torrefaction, acid or alkali treatment, steam explosion, etc.).

This Special Issue aims to address the development/optimization and application of biomass pretreatment methods and their influences on thermochemical conversion processes and products.

Dr. Carmen Branca
Prof. Dr. Antonio Galgano
Guest Editors

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.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 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

  • biomass pretreatments
  • pyrolysis
  • gasification
  • combustion
  • bio-oil and biochar upgrading
  • emissions

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2678 KiB  
Article
A Systematic Approach to Determining the Kinetics of the Combustion of Biomass Char in a Fluidised Bed Reactor
by S. G. Newman, K. Y. Kwong and E. J. Marek
Processes 2024, 12(10), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102103 - 27 Sep 2024
Viewed by 546
Abstract
The aim of this work was to investigate the combustion of biochar in a fluidised bed and determine the intrinsic kinetic parameters for combustion: pre-exponential constant Ai and activation energy Ei. When analysing the rates of reaction, Regimes I, II [...] Read more.
The aim of this work was to investigate the combustion of biochar in a fluidised bed and determine the intrinsic kinetic parameters for combustion: pre-exponential constant Ai and activation energy Ei. When analysing the rates of reaction, Regimes I, II and III were demonstrated, with values for the activation energy of 155, 57 and 9 kJ/mol, respectively, when combustion was limited by different factors: intrinsic kinetics, intraparticle and external mass transport phenomena. These mass transport phenomena were decoupled from a set of ‘apparent’ kinetics incorporating effectiveness factors, which we used as a starting point in the determination of the intrinsic kinetic parameters. We also investigated a simple approach to model the evolution of the char structure over the course of oxidation using an empirical function, fX, fitted with an O(7) polynomial. We then reassessed the division into three combustion regimes by exploring the changes in fX and the intraparticle effectiveness factor that occurred upon increasing the combustion temperature. Overall, we demonstrate that experiments in a fluidised bed can be used to determine biochar kinetics in a simplified but trustworthy way. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Pretreatment for Thermochemical Conversion)
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17 pages, 1523 KiB  
Article
Energy Recovery Efficiency of Integrating Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Pig Slurry and Feedlot Cattle Manure and Hydrothermal Carbonization of Anaerobic Sludge Cake
by Jun-Hyeong Lee and Young-Man Yoon
Processes 2024, 12(1), 198; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12010198 - 16 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1274
Abstract
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a technology designed to improve the efficiency of bioenergy recovery by subjecting biomass to high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. By integrating this technical feature with anaerobic digestion (AD), enhanced energy recovery efficiency is achieved in treating anaerobic digestate (AD-T). The [...] Read more.
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a technology designed to improve the efficiency of bioenergy recovery by subjecting biomass to high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. By integrating this technical feature with anaerobic digestion (AD), enhanced energy recovery efficiency is achieved in treating anaerobic digestate (AD-T). The study investigates enhancing bioenergy recovery efficiency through an integrated process, combining AD of livestock manure and HTC. The primary objective is to improve the energy conversion efficiency of biomass characterized by varying solid contents and chemical compositions. Shortening the hydraulic retention time (HRT) in AD of livestock manure resulted in decreased degradation rate efficiency within the AD-T. This led to increased solid material accumulation, which was crucial for the subsequent HTC reaction. The HTC reaction exhibited its maximum bioenergy recovery at 160 °C. The input energy of the livestock manure, obtained by mixing pig slurry and feedlot cattle manure in a 1:1 (w/w) ratio, was 171,167 MJ/day. Under different HRT conditions (40, 30, and 20 days), recoverable energy from AD of livestock manure ranged from 60,336 to 68,517 MJ/ton. Integration of HTC increased net bioenergy recovery to 106,493 to 130,491 MJ/day under corresponding HRT conditions, highlighting the potential of integrating HTC with AD from livestock manure for enhanced bioenergy recovery efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Pretreatment for Thermochemical Conversion)
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Review

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14 pages, 3717 KiB  
Review
An Overview on Production of Lignocellulose-Derived Platform Chemicals Such as 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural, Furfural, Protocatechuic Acid
by Pravin P. Upare, Rachel E. Clarence, Hyungsub Shin and Byung Gyu Park
Processes 2023, 11(10), 2912; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11102912 - 4 Oct 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2305
Abstract
Furan derivatives such as 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and furfural (FA) and aromatic acids such as protocatechuic acid (PCA) represent the most essential classes of intermediates derived from lignocellulosic biomass. These bio-based compounds are potential feedstocks for producing bio-based chemicals and fuels. However, the [...] Read more.
Furan derivatives such as 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and furfural (FA) and aromatic acids such as protocatechuic acid (PCA) represent the most essential classes of intermediates derived from lignocellulosic biomass. These bio-based compounds are potential feedstocks for producing bio-based chemicals and fuels. However, the derivatives of these bio-based compounds are useful in their antioxidative, antibacterial, and anti-aging activities. Protocatechuic acid (PCA, 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid), derived from lignin biomass, is also one of the essential bio-derived aromatic intermediates with an active acid and hydroxyl group, which can elevate it into an important class of potential platform chemicals for the production of value-added chemicals, such as HMF and furfuryl alcohol (FAL). The platform compounds are indeed the most used furan-based feedstocks since their chemical structure allows the preparation of various high-value-added chemicals. The related catalytic techniques are well known for the upgradation of biomass into these platform chemicals and their conversion into value-added chemicals. In this short review, we aim to briefly discuss biomass conversion into FA, HMF, and PCA and related heterogeneous catalytic processes. In addition, a few potential ongoing research trends are also proposed to provide some ideas for the further preparation of bio-based innovative derivatives in a much more green, simple, efficient, and economical way. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Pretreatment for Thermochemical Conversion)
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