• Energy Research

Coated triple superphosphate (TSP) fertilizer with slow-release and water retention properties was prepared using lignin extracted from olive pomace (OP) biomass and k-carrageenan biopolymer. The a...

The main objective of this work was to study the possibility of using polysaccharides and lignin as a coating material for water-soluble triple superphosphate (TSP) granular fertilizers. In this study, composites based on three polysaccharides (sodium alginate (alginic acid sodium salt): AL, kappa-carrageenan: CR and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt: CM) and lignin (LG) were prepared. The lignin used was extracted from olive pomace (OP) biomass using the alkali method. The morphological, mechanical, and surface properties as well as the thermal behavior of the coatings were characterized and compared. Their morphology and thickness revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed good adhesion between the fertilizer and coating materials. The results showed that the lignin-carrageenan formulation (LGCR) exhibited the highest water absorbency and elastic modulus. Release tests showed the effect of the TSP/biopolymer mass ratio and that the slowest P release was obtained with the LGCR@TSP formulation composite within 3 day. In addition, 59.5% and 72.5% of P was released after 3 days with the TSP/biopolymer mass ratios of 5/1 and 15/1, respectively, compared to 100% P release with the uncoated TSP.

Pyrolysis is a sustainable pathway to transform renewable biomasses into both biofuels and advanced carbonaceous materials (i.e. pyrochar) which can be used as adsorbent of furan compounds. In particular, the aim of this study was to: i) evaluate the effect of vibro-ball milling on physical characteristics of pyrochar and its consequent performance on solely detoxification of a synthetic medium, containing furans and soluble sugars; ii) study the simultaneous detoxification and bioethanol fermentation, by adding activated pyrochar into fermentation medium. Results demonstrated that, compared to untreated pyrochar, the use of milled pyrochar increased by 52% furfural removal from the synthetic medium. Furfural removal rate was also increased (adsorption kinetic constant increased from 0.015 min-1 up to 0.215 min-1), at a pyrochar loading of 40 g L-1. Although, the simultaneous addition of pyrochar into the fermentation medium did not improve the bioethanol yield of the synthetic medium, it has significantly increased the bioethanol production rate.

This study aims at investigating how organic waste co-digestion coupled with alkaline pretreatment can impact the methane production and agronomic value of produced digestates. For this purpose, sludge alone and mixed with olive pomace or macroalgal residues were subjected to anaerobic digestion with and without alkaline pretreatment. In addition, co-digestion of pretreated sludge with raw substrates was also carried out and compared to the whole mixture pretreatment. KOH pretreatment enhanced methane production by 39%, 15% and 49% from sludge, sludge mixed with olive pomace and sludge mixed with macroalgal residues, respectively. The digestates were characterised according to their physico-chemical and agronomic properties. They were then applied as biofertilizers for tomato growth during the first vegetative stage (28 days of culture). Concentrations in chlorophyll a and carotenoids in tomato plants, following sludge digestate addition, rose by 46% and 41% respectively. Sludge digestate enhanced tomato plant dry weight by 87%, while its nitrogen content increased by 90%. The impact of nitrogen and phosphorus contents in the digestate was strongest on tomato plant dry weight, thus explaining the efficiency of sludge digestate relative to other types of digestate. However, when methane production is considered, the combination of pre-treatment with co-digestion of macroalgal residues and sludge appears most beneficial for maximizing energy recovery and for biofertilizer generation.

The effect of ultrasonic, alkali and acid pretreatments and their combination on saccharification was investigated, and the impact of the liquid fractions, obtained after the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated biomasses, on seed germination was evaluated. Mechanical deconstruction of biomass coupled to chemical and/or physical pretreatments was found to enhance the cellulose to glucose conversion yields for both barley and bean straws. The highest conversion yield of 86% was obtained by ultrasonication coupled to alkaline pretreatment of bean straw, corresponding to 171 mg of glucose/g TS. The maximum conversion yield (48 %) for barley straw was obtained with NaOH pretreatment accounting for approximately 140 mg/gTS. The highest energy efficiency was obtained with NaOH pretreatment (1.7 kgglucose/kWh and 1.9 kgglucose/kWh for barley and bean straws respectively). Therefore, NaOH pretreatment appears the most suitable for an efficient release of glucose from the studied biomasses. As for the effect of the liquid fractions of hydrolysis on seed germination, the diluted effluents (3 %) were found to enhance tomato seeds germination, especially in the case of barley straw, by 17–50 %. This work suggests the valorization of liquid fractions and their reuse for agriculture, which is an option to be considered especially in the context of scarce water resources. Finally, the selected pretreatments based on energy efficiency and environmental impact will be developed at pilot and industrial scale for objective to develop a local and regional bioeconomy.

Apretreatment step forlignocelluloses is responsible to alter the complex structure which allows enhancingenzymatic accessibility and bioconversion of the materials.However, there is a gap on the methods to characterize physicalevolutions of the material throughout its pretreatment.The aim of this study is to evaluate the physical changes in rice straw (RS)pretreated with alkaline followed by grinding to produce biopowders.A hydro-textural approach was applied to evaluate the physical changes of RS pretreated byimpregnation and soaking in NaOH.The results indicated that the volume deformation increased by 110%, whilethe energy consumptiondecreased by 11.3% compared to unpretreated RS.Moreover, the cellulose content and glucose were 66.8 and 212 mg/gRS obtained by RSsoaking. Thealkaline-mechanicalpretreatment was shown asan effective process to providehigh glucosereadily converted to bioethanol.Additionally, the hydro-textural approach can be considered an alternative method for biomass structural characterization.

Africa benefits from diverse biomasses that are rich in high-added value materials and precursors for energy, food, agricultural, cosmetic and medicinal applications. Many African countries are interested in valorizing biomasses to develop efficient and integrated biorefinery processes and their use for local and regional economic development. Thus, this report critically reviews the current status of African biomass richness, its diversity, and potential applications. Moreover, particular attention is given to bioenergy production, mainly by biological and thermochemical conversion processes. This also includes biomass valorization in agriculture, particularly for the production of plant-based biostimulants, which are a potential emerging agri-input sector worldwide. This study points out that even though several processes for biofuel, biogas, biofertilizer and biostimulant production have already been established in Africa, their development on a larger scale remains limited. This study also reports the different socioeconomic and political aspects of biomass applications, along with their challenges, opportunities, and future research perspectives, to promote concrete technologies transferable into an industrial level.