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Torrefaction is considered as a method for producing biofuels with improved characteristics compared to those of the “raw” biomass (higher calorific value, moisture resistance, better grindability). The torrefaction process is an endothermic process that is usually carried out in a gaseous atmosphere in the absence of oxygen. To reduce the required heat input, it is proposed to employ the oxidative torrefaction and conduct the process in a fluidized bed agitated with flue gases containing less than 6% oxygen. Preliminary studies of the oxidative torrefaction of sunflower husks, including thermogravimetric analysis of the treated material, have shown that the heat treatment time for the biomass should be at least 5 min. A fluidized bed is a reactor with ideal mixing of the treated material where uniform treatment of raw material particles cannot generally be attained. To overcome this disadvantage of the fluidization technique and achieve the required residence time for biomass in a fluidized bed during a continuous torrefaction process, it was proposed to equip a torrefaction reactor with a series of vertical baffles spaced at 50 mm. These baffles induce a loop-like flow of the processed biomass from the inlet to the outlet of the reactor. To investigate the residence time for husk particles in the reactor, a tracer, which was colored to husk particles' color with a water-soluble dye which did not change the weight and size of the particles, was injected into the bed of uncolored particles. Tracer samples were taken every 30 s at the outlet of the reactor and were analyzed using a special procedure to determine the fraction of colored particles in each sample. This enabled us to gauge the time during which the colored particles injected into the fluidized bed reached the point of their discharge from the bed. Studies performed in a “cold” model of the reactor showed that a series of vertical baffles in the bed can provide the required residence time for biomass in a reactor including commercial reactors. Plates can provide the necessary biomass residence time in the reactor.

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) were pretreated by aqueous ammonia soaking for ethanol production. Pretreated EFB, which were pretreated at the optimal conditions of 60 °C, 12 h, and 21% (w/w) aqueous ammonia, showed 19.5% and 41.4% glucose yields during an enzymatic digestibility test for 96 h when using 15 and 60 FPU of cellulase, respectively. Using the pretreated EFB, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation for 168 h with 5% (w/v) glucan loading and 60 FPU of cellulase and 30 CBU of β-glucosidase per gram glucan resulted in ethanol production of 18.6 g/L titer, 65.6% of theoretical maximum yield, and 0.11 g/L/h of productivity.

Abstract In this study, crude cellulose derived from cornstalk, after bleaching, was used as raw material for the synthesis of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) by reacting with the cellulose with NaOH and chloroacetic acid at 75 °C for 1.5 h. Effects of alkali dosage, concentration of chloroacetic acid on the physical and chemical properties of the CMC products were investigated. It was revealed that the reactants alkali reagent/chloroacetic acid/cellulose at the molar ratio of 4.6:2.8:1and 4:2.5:1, or at the molar ratio of NaOH/ClCH 2 COOH ≈1.6–1.64, resulted in CMC products of relatively high water solubility. The viscosity-average molecular weight M v of these two CMC products obtained at molar ratios of 4.0:2.5:1 and 4.6:2.8:1 is in the range of 1.94 × 10 4 –2.48 × 10 4 g mol −1 , and the average DS of the two products are 0.57 and 0.85, respectively. As the solute concentration is above 2 wt%, the viscosity of the CMC-water solution exhibits nonlinear (exponential) increasing with increasing the solute concentration (typical of non-Newton fluids).

The microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell (MEDCC) is a device to desalinate seawater, and produce acid and alkali. The objective of this study was to enhance the desalination and chemical-production performance of the MEDCC using two types of stack structure. Experiments were conducted with different membrane spacings, numbers of desalination chambers and applied voltages. Results showed that the stack construction in the MEDCC enhanced the desalination and chemical-production rates. The maximal desalination rate of 0.58 ± 0.02 mmol/h, which was 43% higher than that in the MEDCC, was achieved in the four-desalination-chamber MEDCC with the AEM-CEM stack structure and the membrane spacing of 1.5mm. The maximal acid- and alkali-production rates of 0.079 ± 0.006 and 0.13 ± 0.02 mmol/h, which were 46% and 8% higher than that in the MEDCC, respectively, were achieved in the two-desalination-chamber MEDCC with the BPM-AEM-CEM stack structure and the membrane spacing of 3mm.

Acidogenic anaerobic fermentation route was explored for the production of bioethanol and volatile fatty acids (VFA) from the press mud (PM) obtained from sugar mill. Slurry was prepared from PM having 10% of total solids and the same was hydrolyzed under acidic thermal conditions. Both press mud slurry (PMS) and pre-treated press mud slurry (PTPMS) was used as feedstock with mixed microbial consortia (MMC) and enriched mixed microbial consortia (EMMC). Mix of bioethanol and VFA were obtained in all the four cases (PMS-MMC, PMS-EMMC, PTPMS-EMC and PTPMS-EMMC), but, bioethanol and VFA yield of 0.04 g/g and 0.27 g/g, respectively obtained from PTPMS with EMMC was found to be comparatively higher. Control experiments carried out with glucose yielded bioethanol and VFA of 0.042 g/g and 0.28 g/g, respectively demonstrating that the organism was using reducible sugars in the feedstock for the generation of bioethanol by simultaneously producing the VFA from COD.

In order to identify a potential surrogate of planktonic ciliate communities for marine bioassessments and evaluating biological conservations, the different taxonomic/numerical resolutions and taxa as surrogates were studied in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China during a 1-year cycle (June 2007-May 2008).Samples were collected biweekly from a depth of 1 m at each of five sites. A range of physicochemical parameters were also measured in order to determine water quality.The genus- and family-level resolutions maintained sufficient information to evaluate the ecological patterns of the ciliate communities in response to environmental status. The non-loricate oligotrichous ciliate assemblages in both abundance and occurrence may be used as a surrogate of planktonic ciliate communities. Heavy data transformations were an optimal strategy for the species level of planktonic ciliates, while mild data transformations were for the higher. The ordination patterns based on species biomass, occurrence, and biomass/abundance ratio matrices were significantly consistent with that of species abundance data.The results suggest that the use of simplifications at both taxonomic and numerical resolutions are time-efficient and would allow improving sampling strategies of large spatial/temporal scale monitoring programs and biological conservation researches in the marine ecosystem with a relative paucity of scientists.

Since long ago, pelagic Sargassum mats have been known to be abundant in the Sargasso Sea, where they provide habitat to diverse organisms. However, over the last few years, massive amounts of pelagic Sargassum have reached the coast of several countries in the Caribbean and West Africa, causing economic and environmental problems. Aiming for lessening the impacts of the blooms, governments and private companies remove the seaweeds from the shore, but this process results expensive. The valorization of this abundant biomass can render Sargassum tides into an economic opportunity and concurrently solve their associated environmental problems. Despite the diverse fields where algae have found applications and the relevance of this recurrent situation, Sargassum biomass remains without large scale applications. Therefore, this review aims to present the potential uses of these algae, identifying the limitations that must be assessed to effectively valorize this bioresource. Due to the constraints identified for each of the presented applications, it is concluded that a biorefinery approach should be developed to effectively valorize this abundant biomass. However, there is an urgent need for investigations focusing on holopelagic Sargassum to be able to truly valorize this seaweed.

Microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment of wheat straw and its enzymatic hydrolysis were investigated and compared with the conventional alkali pre-treatment process. First, the effect of microwave power and pre-treatment time on the weight loss and composition of wheat straw was examined. The results show that the higher microwave power with shorter pre-treatment time and the lower microwave power with longer pre-treatment time had the same effect on the weight loss and composition at the same energy consumption. The comparison was then made between the effect of the microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment and the conventional alkali one on the weight loss and composition of wheat straw. The wheat straw had a weight loss of 48·4% and a composition of cellulose 79·6%, lignin 5·7% and hemicellulose 7·8% after 25 min microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment at 700 W, compared with a weight loss of 44·7% and a composition of cellulose 73·5%, lignin 7·2% and hemicellulose 11·2% after 60 min conventional alkali pre-treatment. The microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment removed more lignin and hemicellulose from wheat straw with shorter pre-treatment time compared with the conventional alkali one. Finally, the enzymatic hydrolysis of pre-treated wheat straw (substrate concentration 50 g l−1, enzyme loading 20 mg g−1 substrate) was also investigated and the results indicate that the microwave-assisted alkali pre-treated wheat straw had higher hydrolysis rate, reducing sugar concentration and glucose content in the hydrolysate than the conventional alkali pre-treated one. Microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment is a potential alternative of wheat straw pre-treatment for its enzymatic hydrolysis.