Rail vs truck transport of biomass

This study analyzes the economics of transshipping biomass from truck to train in a North American setting. Transshipment will only be economic when the cost per unit distance of a second transportation mode is less than the original mode. There is an optimum number of transshipment terminals which is related to biomass yield. Transshipment incurs incremental fixed costs, and hence there is a minimum shipping distance for rail transport above which lower costs/km offset the incremental fixed costs. For transport by dedicated unit train with an optimum number of terminals, the minimum economic rail shipping distance for straw is 170 km, and for boreal forest harvest residue wood chips is 145 km. The minimum economic shipping distance for straw exceeds the biomass draw distance for economically sized centrally located power plants, and hence the prospects for rail transport are limited to cases in which traffic congestion from truck transport would otherwise preclude project development. Ideally, wood chip transport costs would be lowered by rail transshipment for an economically sized centrally located power plant, but in a specific case in Alberta, Canada, the layout of existing rail lines precludes a centrally located plant supplied by rail, whereas a more versatile road system enables it by truck. Hence for wood chips as well as straw the economic incentive for rail transport to centrally located processing plants is limited. Rail transshipment may still be preferred in cases in which road congestion precludes truck delivery, for example as result of community objections.     

Optimization of acid hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse and investigations on its fermentability for the production of xylitol by Candida guilliermondii

The dilute-acid hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse was optimized using a statistical experimental design resulting in hydrolysates containing 57.25 g/L of xylose, which were fermented with a high inoculum concentration (10 g/L of the yeast Candida guilliermondii IM/UFRJ 50088). The addition of urea reduced the time of conversion (t _C) to 75 h (without nitrogen source addition t _C>127 h), and, consequently, improving the rates of xylitol bioproduction. Fermentator experiments, using the optimized conditions, resulted in enhanced conversion rates, reducing t _C to 30 h. The stability of the yeast in the hydrolysate was also verified in a 480-h cultivation.     

Ethanol production from steam-explosion pretreated wheat straw

Bioconversion of cereal straw to bioethanol is becoming an attractive alternative to conventional fuel ethanol production from grains. In this work, the best operational conditions for steam-explosion pretreatment of wheat straw for ethanol production by a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process were studied, using diluted acid [H₂SO₄ 0.9% (w/w)] and water as preimpregnation agents. Acid-or water-impregnated biomass was steam-exploded at different temperatures (160–200°C) and residence times (5, 10, and 20 min). Composition of solid and filtrate obtained after pretreatment, enzymatic digestibility and ethanol production of pretreated wheat straw at different experimental conditions was analyzed. The best pretreatment conditions to obtain high conversion yield to ethanol (approx 80% of theoretical) of cellulose-rich residue after steam-explosion were 190°C and 10 min or 200°C and 5 min, in acid-impregnated straw. However, 180°C for 10 min in acid-impregnated biomass provided the highest ethanol yield referred to raw material (140 L/t wheat straw), and sugars recovery yield in the filtrate (300 g/kg wheat straw).     

Structural and thermal characterization of sugarcane bagasse phthalates prepared with ultrasound irradiation

Chemical modification of sugarcane bagasse was achieved by esterification with phthalic anhydride in pyridine after ultrasound irradiation. The parameters including ultrasonic irradiation time 0-40 min, phthalic anhydride dosage 2.5-7.5 g, reaction time 30-150 min, and reaction temperature 80-115 °C were optimised and the extent of phthalation was measured by weight percent gain. It was found that degradation of the cell wall polymers occurred at higher temperature (>90 °C) under the experimental conditions used.FT-IR and CP/MAS ¹³C NMR spectroscopy studies also clearly produced evidence for phthalation reaction. The phthalated bagasse preparations showed decreased thermal stability after chemical modification.     

Xylanase production by Trichoderma reesei rut C-30 on rice straw

Xylanase production of Trichoderma reesei Rut C-30 was examined at different initial pH values (4.8, 5.9, and 7.0) on rice straw in shake flasks, and in a fermentor, for the best pH condition. Enzyme performance was tested on ammonia-treated dwarf elephant grass. The maximum xylanase activities, 92 and 122 IU/mL, were obtained at pH 4.8 in the shake flasks and fermentor, respectively, in which good growth of the fungus was observed during the first 24 h and consumption of proteins dissolved from the rice straw caused the pH to rise later to values between 6.4 and 6.7 (optimal for xylanase production). The xylanases from T. reesei were as effective as Multifect XL, a commercial enzyme preparation, in hydrolyzing ammonia-treated elephant grass.     

Identification,quantification and Chrastil modelling of wheat straw wax extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) can be used as a “green” selective solvent for extractions of wheat straw waxes. For the first time, the crude extraction yields of wheat straw waxes and the yields of a single high value group of components (wax esters) using various scCO₂ conditions (305.15 to 373.15 K and 7.5 to 40 MPa) have been modelled using the Chrastil equation (Chrastil, 1982). The model accurately predicts both the crude yield and percentage of valuable wax esters within the extracts enabling maximum extraction efficiency. The key compounds within the waxes (fatty acids, sterols, fatty alcohols, wax esters, β-diketones and alkanes) have been identified and quantified. This study highlighted that, 14,16 hentriacontanedione was extracted at critical temperature and pressure in concentrations of 1000 μg.g⁻¹ straw. This molecule could demonstrate significant potential as a natural chelate for metal recovery and also in the formation of super-hydrophobic coatings.     

稻草与煤固定床共热解特性的研究

选取稻草为生物质原料,将其与两种不同煤阶的煤(内蒙褐煤和神府烟煤)分别以0∶100、20∶80、40∶60、60∶40、80∶20、100∶0的干基质量比均匀混合.借助固定床反应器,研究了稻草与两种煤的共热解特性,探讨了共热解过程中可能存在的协同作用.结果表明,稻草添加有利于共热解气体产物的生成,且对神府煤作用更明显;稻草含量越高,热解气体产量的实验值与加权平均计算值的偏差也越大,说明稻草与煤共热解过程发生了协同作用.而共热解所得焦产量的实验值与加权平均计算值基本一致.热解焦傅里叶红外光谱分析结果表明,稻草添加对热解焦的官能团未造成显著影响.     

神府煤与稻杆共热溶研究

研究了神府煤与稻杆在1-甲基萘溶剂中不同温度下的共热溶行为。相对神府煤,稻杆单独热溶时具有更高的热溶率,表明其具有较好的热溶活性。但稻杆的热溶过程中产生大量的挥发性气体,导致其热溶率和热溶物产率之间的较大差异。神府煤单独热溶时,其热溶率与热溶物产率之间的差异相对较小。神府煤与稻杆的共热溶表明,两者之间存在协同效应,并且该协同效应受温度的影响显著。在热溶温度为320~340 ℃时,对热溶物产率而言具有正的协同效应,也即其热溶物产率的实验值大于通过神府煤与稻杆单独热溶时热溶物产率经质量加权平均计算得到的理论值。在研究的热溶温度范围内,共热溶的热溶率实验值均低于质量加权平均的理论计算值。相对于理论计算值,在320 ℃时热溶物产率的实验值增加达到最大,为7.9%。此外,通过对热溶物的性质表征,还进一步探讨了共热溶过程中的协同作用机理。     

Optimizing pyrolysis temperature of contaminated rice straw biochar: Heavy metal(loid) deportment,properties evolution,and Pb adsorption/immobilization

Pyrolysis of rice straw (RS), a popular method for producing biochar, effectively treats heavy metal(loid)-contaminated RS. Here, we carried out this process at different temperatures and investigated the deportment of heavy metal(loid)s and the property evolution of biochars. Also, the optimal pyrolysis temperature for Pb adsorption and immobilization was studied. We observed that increasing the temperature could volatilize the heavy metal(loid)s. Cd was the most volatile metal therein, followed by As, while Ni, Cu, and Pb were relatively refractory. More than 75% of the remaining heavy metal(loid)s were non-exchangeable fractions at 700 °C, significantly reducing the environmental risk during subsequent application. Meanwhile, higher pyrolysis temperature resulted in higher pH values, higher surface areas, and stronger Pb adsorption capacity of RS biochars. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q_m) of biochars was in the order of BC300 (77.2 mg·g^?1) < BC500 (137.2 mg·g^?1) < BC700 (222.6 mg·g^?1). Besides, high-temperature biochar could significantly reduce the vertical Pb migration. And BC700 increased the fraction of residual Pb from 39.7% to 44.0% in the soil under the acid rain leaching condition. Therefore, we propose that the heavy metal(loid)-contaminated RS biochar produced at 700 °C might be more suitable for the remediation of soil heavily polluted in the Pb-smelting area.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法同时测定荞麦秸秆中的8种重金属元素

基于硝酸-盐酸-氢氟酸消解体系,建立了马弗炉-微波消解-电感耦合离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法同时测定荞麦秸秆中的Cr、Cu、Ag、Mn、Fe、As、Ni、Pb等重金属含量测定方法。在微波消解的过程中,分别考察5种不同组合的混合酸体系及两种消解方法对荞麦秸秆中8种重金属测试结果的影响。实验结果表明,浓硝酸-浓盐酸-氢氟酸(6∶2∶2)混酸体系和马弗炉-微波消解样品前处理优于其他方法。在优化条件下,8种重金属加标回收率为91.2%~102%,相对标准偏差(RSD,n=5)为0.22%~4.7%,检出限为0.18~9.41μg/L。方法操作简便、快速、准确,结果可靠,能同时测定荞麦秸秆中8种重金属元素。