applsci-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Recent Advances in Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Technologies

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Thermal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2024) | Viewed by 2784

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
INIAV - Instituto de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Avenida da República, Quinta do Marquês, Oeiras, Portugal, and IDMEC, Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: forest management; energy cultivations; thermochemical conrsion od biomass; carbon sequestration; biomass economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
IDMEC, Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: biomass valorization (agriculture and forest biomass); biomass conversion processes (e.g., combustion, carbonization, pyrolysis, and gasification); emission; biofuels and biofertilizers; energy and environment (decarbonization); life cycle analysis; sustainability; biomass and society
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The biomass valorization is one important step to invert the global dependence on fossil fuels and to comply with the European Renewable Energy Directive, the European targets 2020–2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, it is still necessary to optimize and exploit biomass.

Biomass can be used for different purposes, such as bioenergy (heat, electricity, transport fuels, biogas for industrial and domestic use), food (vegetables, meat, among others), biomaterials (paper, construction material, chemicals, cotton, fibers, fertilizers, soil corrector, among others) and animal feed. A strategic driver for a successful bio-based economy will be the development of systems that allow for the highly efficient and cost-effective processing of bio-based raw materials into a range of bio-based products, while also aiming to reduce GHG emissions and efficient use. Multiple biomasses can be processed in a single conversion process or in a combination of integrated processes. Depending on its composition, the biomass can be used in thermochemical biomass conversion technologies such as combustion, pyrolysis and gasification, to produce different products. The development and improvement of innovative technical methods are of great significance for improving the processing procedures and utilization efficiency of biomass and for decreasing the accompanying adverse effects (such as environmental pollution and energy consumption).

It is with great pleasure that I invite authors to submit articles to this Special Issue, so that together we can help make the world more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This Special Issue addresses various topics, including: residual biomass; conversion technology (carbonization, pyrolysis, gasification, combustion); renewable energy; biofuels; hydrogen; biochar; biofertilizers; energy; emissions; life cycle analysis and sustainability.

Dr. Abel Rodrigues
Dr. Ana Ferreira
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. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • residual biomass
  • conversion technology
  • renewable energy
  • biofuels
  • hydrogen
  • biofertilizers
  • energy
  • emissions
  • life cycle analysis
  • sustainability

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 2348 KiB  
Article
Biochar from Agro-Forest Residue: Application Perspective Based on Decision Support Analysis
by Tsvetelina Petrova, Iliyana Naydenova, João Ribau and Ana F. Ferreira
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(5), 3240; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13053240 - 3 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2318
Abstract
The present work aims at (a) carbonizing agriculture biomass residue; (b) characterizing the obtained biochar; and (c) exploring its potential use for energy/resource recovery purposes. Six types of biomass were carbonized. The biochar was investigated through scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray [...] Read more.
The present work aims at (a) carbonizing agriculture biomass residue; (b) characterizing the obtained biochar; and (c) exploring its potential use for energy/resource recovery purposes. Six types of biomass were carbonized. The biochar was investigated through scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy detector, thermogravimetric (TGA), proximate, ultimate, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analyses, along with bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity, and salt content measurements. The results served as input data for multi-criteria, multi-objective decision analysis of biochar, aiming to evaluate its best application prospective. The TGA identified two general stages: devolatilization (stage 2: 180–560 °C), and combustion (stage 3: 560–720 °C). The activation energy of stage 2 decreased with an increasing heating rate, but the opposite trend was observed for stage 3. The biochar CO2 adsorption suggested possible applications beyond energy conversion technologies. The decision support analysis revealed that peach stones, cherry stones, and grape pomace biochar achieved the most promising results for all evaluated applications (biofuel; catalyst; CO2 sequestration and soil amendment; supercapacitor) in contrast to colza, softwood, or sunflower husks char. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Technologies)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop