The Experts below are selected from a list of 1821 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Rick Gustafson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Integration of wastewater treatment into process design of Lignocellulosic Biorefineries for improved economic viability
Biotechnology for Biofuels, 2020Co-Authors: Tyler Tobin, Rick Gustafson, Renata Bura, Heidi L GoughAbstract:Background Production and use of bio-based products offer advantages over conventional petrochemicals, yet the relatively high cost of production has restricted their mainstream adoption. Optimization of wastewater treatment processes could reduce capital expenditures, lowering the barrier to market entry for Lignocellulosic Biorefineries. This paper characterizes wastewater associated with Lignocellulosic ethanol production and evaluates potential wastewater treatment operations. Results It is found that organic material is intrinsic to bioconversion wastewater, representing up to 260 kg of biological oxygen demand per tonne of feedstock processed. Inorganics in the wastewater largely originate from additions during pretreatment and pH adjustments, which increase the inorganic loading by 44 kg per tonne of feedstock processed. Adjusting the ethanol production process to decrease addition of inorganic material could reduce the demands and therefore cost of waste treatment. Various waste treatment technologies—including those that take advantage of ecosystem services provided by feedstock production—were compared in terms of capital and operating costs, as well as technical feasibility. Conclusions It is concluded that wastewater treatment technologies should be better integrated with conversion process design and feedstock production. Efforts to recycle resources throughout the biofuel supply chain through application of ecosystem services provided by adjacent feedstock plantations and recovery of resources from the waste stream to reduce overall capital and operating costs of bioconversion facilities.
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Can we use short rotation coppice poplar for sugar based biorefinery feedstock? Bioconversion of 2-year-old poplar grown as short rotation coppice
Biotechnology for Biofuels, 2017Co-Authors: Chang Dou, Renata Bura, Wilian F. Marcondes, Jessica E. Djaja, Rick GustafsonAbstract:Background Feedstock cost is a substantial barrier to the commercialization of Lignocellulosic Biorefineries. Poplar grown using a short rotation coppice (SRC) system has the potential to provide a low-cost feedstock and economically viable sugar yields for fuels and chemicals production. In the coppice management regime, poplars are harvested after 2 years’ growth to develop the root system and establish the trees. The biomass from these 2-year-old trees is very heterogeneous, and includes components of leaf, bark, branch, and wood chip. This material is quite different than the samples that have been used in most poplar bioconversion research, which come from mature trees of short rotation forestry (SRF) plantations. If the coppice management regime is to be used, it is important that feedstock growers maximize their revenue from this initial harvest, but the heterogeneous nature of the biomass may be challenging for bioconversion. This work evaluates bioconversion of 2-year-old poplar coppice and compares its performance to whitewood chips from 12-year-old poplar. Results The 2-year-old whole tree coppice (WTC) is comprised of 37% leaf, 9% bark, 12% branch, and 42% wood chip. As expected, the chemical compositions of each component were markedly different. The leaf has a low sugar content but is high in phenolics, ash, and extractives. By removing the leaves, the sugar content of the biomass increased significantly, while the phenolic, ash, and extractives contents decreased. Leaf removal improved monomeric sugar yield by 147 kg/tonne of biomass following steam pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Bioconversion of the no-leaf coppice (NLC) achieved a 67% overall sugar recovery, showing no significant difference to mature whitewood from forestry plantation (WWF, 71%). The overall sugar yield of NLC was 135 kg/tonne less than that of WWF, due to the low inherent sugar content in original biomass. An economic analysis shows the minimum ethanol selling price required to cover the operating cost of NLC bioconversion was $1.69/gallon. Conclusions Leaf removal resulted in significant improvement in overall monomeric sugar production from SRC biomass. Leaf removal is essential to achieve good yields in bioconversion of poplar. Economic analysis suggests the NLC could be a reasonable feedstock provided it can be obtained at a discounted price.
Melvin P. Tucker - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Deacetylation and Mechanical Refining (DMR) and Deacetylation and Dilute Acid (DDA) Pretreatment of Corn Stover, Switchgrass, and a 50/50 Corn Stover/Switchgrass Blend
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2020Co-Authors: Erik M. Kuhn, Xiaowen Chen, Melvin P. TuckerAbstract:The most economical feedstock available to future Lignocellulosic Biorefineries may be a feedstock blend. Corn stover, switchgrass, and a 50:50 blend of corn stover and switchgrass were subjected t...
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base catalyzed depolymerization of biorefinery lignins
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2016Co-Authors: Rui Katahira, Xiaowen Chen, Melvin P. Tucker, Ashutosh Mittal, Kellene Mckinney, David K Johnson, Gregg T BeckhamAbstract:Lignocellulosic Biorefineries will produce a substantial pool of lignin-enriched residues, which are currently slated to be burned for heat and power. Going forward, however, valorization strategies for residual solid lignin will be essential to the economic viability of modern Biorefineries. To achieve these strategies, effective lignin depolymerization processes will be required that can convert specific lignin-enriched biorefinery substrates into products of sufficient value and market size. Base-catalyzed depolymerization (BCD) of lignin using sodium hydroxide and other basic media has been shown to be an effective depolymerization approach when using technical and isolated lignins relevant to the pulp and paper industry. To gain insights in the application of BCD to lignin-rich, biofuels-relevant residues, here we apply BCD with sodium hydroxide at two catalyst loadings and temperatures of 270, 300, and 330 °C for 40 min to residual biomass from typical and emerging biochemical conversion processes. ...
Pierre-yves Pontalier - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Separation of sugarcane bagasse mild alkaline extract components by ultrafiltration – Membrane screening and effect of filtration parameters
Process Biochemistry, 2019Co-Authors: Vincent Oriez, Jérôme Peydecastaing, Pierre-yves PontalierAbstract:Mild alkaline treatment (1.5% NaOH (w/v), solid:liquid ratio of 1:20, 60 °C, 6 h) of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) produced an extract composed of hemicelluloses, lignin, phenolic monomers and acetic acid. The purification of this extract, usually considered a by-product in Lignocellulosic Biorefineries, is of major importance to give value to the whole mild alkaline fractionation process. Ultrafiltration was assessed to separate the components of the SCB alkaline extract which is a prerequisite for their further valorization. The permeate flux and the retention of the extract components were studied on seven membranes (polysulfone hollow fiber and ceramic tubular) with different molecular weight cut-offs, under various operating conditions. On all the membranes tested, oligomers of lignin and hemicelluloses were separated from salts, phenolic monomers and acetic acid. The 10 kDa polysulfone hollow fiber membrane presented the highest lignin and hemicelluloses retention, exceeding 85 and 90%, respectively, regardless of shear rate and with a limited influence of transmembrane pressure. For salts, acetic acid and phenolic monomers, retention levels of about 0–10% were recorded for this membrane. At 2.8 bar and at 20 °C, the permeate flux reached 16 L/h/m2 and the critical flux was not reached.
Renata Bura - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Integration of wastewater treatment into process design of Lignocellulosic Biorefineries for improved economic viability
Biotechnology for Biofuels, 2020Co-Authors: Tyler Tobin, Rick Gustafson, Renata Bura, Heidi L GoughAbstract:Background Production and use of bio-based products offer advantages over conventional petrochemicals, yet the relatively high cost of production has restricted their mainstream adoption. Optimization of wastewater treatment processes could reduce capital expenditures, lowering the barrier to market entry for Lignocellulosic Biorefineries. This paper characterizes wastewater associated with Lignocellulosic ethanol production and evaluates potential wastewater treatment operations. Results It is found that organic material is intrinsic to bioconversion wastewater, representing up to 260 kg of biological oxygen demand per tonne of feedstock processed. Inorganics in the wastewater largely originate from additions during pretreatment and pH adjustments, which increase the inorganic loading by 44 kg per tonne of feedstock processed. Adjusting the ethanol production process to decrease addition of inorganic material could reduce the demands and therefore cost of waste treatment. Various waste treatment technologies—including those that take advantage of ecosystem services provided by feedstock production—were compared in terms of capital and operating costs, as well as technical feasibility. Conclusions It is concluded that wastewater treatment technologies should be better integrated with conversion process design and feedstock production. Efforts to recycle resources throughout the biofuel supply chain through application of ecosystem services provided by adjacent feedstock plantations and recovery of resources from the waste stream to reduce overall capital and operating costs of bioconversion facilities.
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Can we use short rotation coppice poplar for sugar based biorefinery feedstock? Bioconversion of 2-year-old poplar grown as short rotation coppice
Biotechnology for Biofuels, 2017Co-Authors: Chang Dou, Renata Bura, Wilian F. Marcondes, Jessica E. Djaja, Rick GustafsonAbstract:Background Feedstock cost is a substantial barrier to the commercialization of Lignocellulosic Biorefineries. Poplar grown using a short rotation coppice (SRC) system has the potential to provide a low-cost feedstock and economically viable sugar yields for fuels and chemicals production. In the coppice management regime, poplars are harvested after 2 years’ growth to develop the root system and establish the trees. The biomass from these 2-year-old trees is very heterogeneous, and includes components of leaf, bark, branch, and wood chip. This material is quite different than the samples that have been used in most poplar bioconversion research, which come from mature trees of short rotation forestry (SRF) plantations. If the coppice management regime is to be used, it is important that feedstock growers maximize their revenue from this initial harvest, but the heterogeneous nature of the biomass may be challenging for bioconversion. This work evaluates bioconversion of 2-year-old poplar coppice and compares its performance to whitewood chips from 12-year-old poplar. Results The 2-year-old whole tree coppice (WTC) is comprised of 37% leaf, 9% bark, 12% branch, and 42% wood chip. As expected, the chemical compositions of each component were markedly different. The leaf has a low sugar content but is high in phenolics, ash, and extractives. By removing the leaves, the sugar content of the biomass increased significantly, while the phenolic, ash, and extractives contents decreased. Leaf removal improved monomeric sugar yield by 147 kg/tonne of biomass following steam pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Bioconversion of the no-leaf coppice (NLC) achieved a 67% overall sugar recovery, showing no significant difference to mature whitewood from forestry plantation (WWF, 71%). The overall sugar yield of NLC was 135 kg/tonne less than that of WWF, due to the low inherent sugar content in original biomass. An economic analysis shows the minimum ethanol selling price required to cover the operating cost of NLC bioconversion was $1.69/gallon. Conclusions Leaf removal resulted in significant improvement in overall monomeric sugar production from SRC biomass. Leaf removal is essential to achieve good yields in bioconversion of poplar. Economic analysis suggests the NLC could be a reasonable feedstock provided it can be obtained at a discounted price.
Birgitte Kiær Ahring - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Fractionation of Lignocellulosic Biomass Materials With Wet Explosion Pretreatment
Biomass Fractionation Technologies for a Lignocellulosic Feedstock Based Biorefinery, 2016Co-Authors: Rajib Biswas, Birgitte Kiær AhringAbstract:Lignocellulosic biomass resources have great potential for the widespread production of sustainable biofuels, chemicals, and bioproducts worldwide. However, the deconstruction of the cell wall components to facilitate microbial conversion has been a major challenge due to its recalcitrant nature. Thus pretreatment is a prerequisite for efficient hydrolysis of lignocellulose, and the cost for such treatment is about one-third of the overall processing costs in a cellulosic biorefinery. The development of a cost-effective pretreatment method is essential to bring the Lignocellulosic Biorefineries into commercial reality. Wet explosion (WEx), a thermochemical pretreatment method using oxygen as a catalyst, has been successfully applied in combination with microbial fermentation/digestion processes using agricultural/forest residues as well as manure fibers. Presented here is a review of the parameters involved in WEx pretreatment and its performance on varieties of biomass materials.
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Wet Explosion: a Universal and Efficient Pretreatment Process for Lignocellulosic Biorefineries
BioEnergy Research, 2015Co-Authors: Rajib Biswas, Hinrich Uellendahl, Birgitte Kiær AhringAbstract:Lignocellulosic biomass resources especially agricultural and forests residues, perennial crops, farm wastes, and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste hold significant potential for the widespread production of sustainable fuels, chemicals, and bioproducts worldwide. For biochemical conversion processes, deconstruction of Lignocellulosic biomass into its components (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) for further microbial conversion has been a major challenge due to the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose. Thus pretreatment is prerequisite for efficient hydrolysis of lignocellulose and cost for such treatment is currently about one third of the overall processing costs in a cellulosic biorefinery. Thus, the development of a more efficient and cost-effective pretreatment method is crucial for the commercialization of Lignocellulosic Biorefineries. Wet explosion (WEx), a thermochemical pretreatment method with additional features of oxygen addition and explosive decompression, can be adjusted to different biomass feedstock and to subsequent bio-catalytic and microbial processes. The WEx pretreatment method has been successfully applied in combination with both microbial fermentation and anaerobic digestion processes using both agricultural and forest residues as well as manure fibers. Steam explosion, represents a related process to WEx pretreatment where high pressure is used but no oxygen is added. This process has been tested in demonstration scale while WEx is on its way to commercialization. Presented here is a summary of the basic concepts and parameters involved in WEx pretreatment.