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Environments
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Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass
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Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 8983

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ali Umut Sen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: chemical valorization of lignocellulosic biomass using extraction; thermochemical conversion; adsorption methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass is defined as “The biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste” by the European Directive 2009/28/EC. From a bioenergy perspective, biomass may be broadly defined as the organic matter derived from plants, which includes wood, bark, and energy crops, as well as wastes, and algae.

Recently, biomass conversion has received considerable interest due to economic and environmental concerns related to the utilization of depleting petroleum reserves. The utilization of underused or unused biomass in a biorefinery scheme seems to be an economically attractive and sustainable process to reduce waste and to produce value-added materials, chemicals, or fuels from biomass. 

Thermochemical treatments are among the most important conversion methods of biomass in addition to extraction. Thermochemical treatments of biomass include torrefaction, low-temperature, moderate-temperature, and high-temperature pyrolysis, gasification, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and liquefaction (HTL), as well as direct liquefaction (solvolysis).

This Special Issue aims to analyze recent advances in different thermochemical treatments of biomass to lay the groundwork for future studies. The submitted articles should comply with The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and green chemistry principles.

Dr. Ali Umut Sen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • biomass
  • wood
  • bark
  • crop
  • waste
  • pyrolysis
  • torrefaction
  • gasification
  • hydrothermal carbonization
  • direct liquefaction
  • biorefineries

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 4827 KiB  
Article
Influence of Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) Temperature on Hydrochar and Process Liquid for Poultry, Swine, and Dairy Manure
by Bilash Devnath, Sami Khanal, Ajay Shah and Toufiq Reza
Environments 2024, 11(7), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070150 - 14 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1425
Abstract
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising technology for wet manure treatment by converting animal manure into valuable fuels, materials, and chemicals. Among other HTC process parameters, the temperature influences HTC products the most. As various animal manures have different compositions, it is not [...] Read more.
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising technology for wet manure treatment by converting animal manure into valuable fuels, materials, and chemicals. Among other HTC process parameters, the temperature influences HTC products the most. As various animal manures have different compositions, it is not certain how the HTC temperature influences the hydrochar and HTC process liquid. To evaluate the temperature’s effect on HTC, three different manures (poultry, swine, and dairy) were hydrothermally carbonized at three different temperatures (180, 220, and 260 °C), and solid and liquid products were characterized for their morphology, elemental compositions, and ions. The carbon contents of the hydrochar reached as high as 38.98 ± 0.36% and 40.05 ± 0.57% for poultry and swine manure, respectively, when these manures were treated at 260 °C. Ammonium showed an around 30% increase in poultry manure hydrochar with the increase in the HTC temperature. In contrast, in swine manure, it decreased by around 80%, and in dairy manure, the HTC temperature did not have any remarkable effect on the ammonium content. The process liquids from HTC of dairy manure at 220 °C showed the most balanced distribution of different ions, with 4970 ± 673 ppm of sodium, 4354 ± 437 ppm of ammonium, 2766 ± 417 ppm of potassium, 978 ± 82 ppm of magnesium, 953 ± 143 ppm of calcium, 3607 ± 16 ppm of chloride, and 39 ± 7 ppm of phosphate. These results emphasize the manure-specific effects of the HTC temperature on both solid and liquid products, indicating the need for optimized strategies to enhance HTC processes for various types of animal manures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass)
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21 pages, 1505 KiB  
Article
Heavy Metals in Pyrolysis of Contaminated Wastes: Phase Distribution and Leaching Behaviour
by Erlend Sørmo, Gabrielle Dublet-Adli, Gladys Menlah, Gudny Øyre Flatabø, Valentina Zivanovic, Per Carlsson, Åsgeir Almås and Gerard Cornelissen
Environments 2024, 11(6), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11060130 - 19 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1924
Abstract
Pyrolysis is a recognized alternative for the sustainable management of contaminated organic waste, as it yields energy-rich gas, oil, and a carbon-rich biochar product. Low-volatility compounds, however, such as heavy metals (HMs; As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) typically accumulate in [...] Read more.
Pyrolysis is a recognized alternative for the sustainable management of contaminated organic waste, as it yields energy-rich gas, oil, and a carbon-rich biochar product. Low-volatility compounds, however, such as heavy metals (HMs; As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) typically accumulate in biochars, limiting their application potential, especially for soil improvement. The distribution of HMs in pyrolysis products is influenced by treatment temperature and the properties of both the HMs and the feedstock. There is a significant knowledge gap in our understanding of the mass balances of HMs in full-scale industrial pyrolysis systems. Therefore, the fate of HMs during full-scale relevant pyrolysis (500–800 °C) of seven contaminated feedstocks and a clean wood feedstock were investigated for the first time. Most of the HMs accumulated in the biochar (fixation rates (FR) >70%), but As, Cd, Pb, and Zn partly partitioned into the flue gas at temperatures ≥ 600 °C, as demonstrated by FRs of <30% for some of the feedstocks. Emission factors (EFs, mg per tonne biochar produced) for particle-bound HMs (<0.45 µm) were 0.04–7.7 for As, 0.002–0.41 for Cd, 0.01–208 for Pb, and 0.09–342 for Zn. Only minor fractions of the HMs were found in the condensate (0–11.5%). To investigate the mobility of HMs accumulated in the biochars, a novel leaching test for sustained pH drop (at pH 4, 5.5 and 7) was developed. It was revealed that increasing pyrolysis temperature led to stronger incorporation of HMs in the sludge-based biochar matrix: after pyrolysis at 800 °C, at pH 4, <1% of total Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb and < 10% of total As and Zn contents in the biochars were leached. Most interestingly, the high HM mobility observed in wood-based biochars compared to sewage-sludge-based biochars indicates the need to develop specific environmental-management thresholds for soil application of sewage-sludge biochars. Accordingly, more research is needed to better understand what governs the mobility of HMs in sewage-sludge biochars to provide a sound basis for future policy-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass)
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15 pages, 2662 KiB  
Article
Iron Oxide-Activated Carbon Composites for Enhanced Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis of Hardwood
by Amine Lataf, Andrew E. Khalil Awad, Bjorn Joos, Robert Carleer, Jan Yperman, Sonja Schreurs, Jan D’Haen, Ann Cuypers and Dries Vandamme
Environments 2024, 11(5), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11050102 - 15 May 2024
Viewed by 1264
Abstract
A commercial activated carbon (AC) was modified through iron oxide incorporation to obtain microwave absorbers (MWAs) for microwave-assisted pyrolysis. The influence of iron oxide content (5 and 20 wt% Fe3O4) and the modification methods were tested as follows: (1) [...] Read more.
A commercial activated carbon (AC) was modified through iron oxide incorporation to obtain microwave absorbers (MWAs) for microwave-assisted pyrolysis. The influence of iron oxide content (5 and 20 wt% Fe3O4) and the modification methods were tested as follows: (1) in situ co-precipitation + washing step with Milli-Q; (2) in situ co-precipitation + washing step with Milli-Q/ethanol; and (3) physical iron oxide blending. The resulting MWAs were evaluated on the microwave-assisted pyrolysis of hardwood in a Milestone Flexiwave microwave reactor. The biochar yield varied from 24 wt% to 89 wt% and was influenced by the modification method rather than the iron oxide addition. The MWAs with physically blended iron oxide resulted in biochar yields comparable to conventional biochar (450 °C). Furthermore, the addition of iron oxide-activated carbon composites during the microwave-assisted pyrolysis caused a significant decrease in the biochar’s 16 EPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mainly by reducing the amount of pyrene in the biochar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass)
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15 pages, 3165 KiB  
Article
Home Trash Biomass Valorization by Catalytic Pyrolysis
by Bruna Rijo, Ana Paula Soares Dias, Nicole de Jesus and Manuel Francisco Pereira
Environments 2023, 10(10), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10100186 - 20 Oct 2023
Viewed by 2505
Abstract
With the increase in population, large amounts of food waste are produced worldwide every day. These leftovers can be used as a source of lignocellulosic waste, oils, and polysaccharides for renewable fuels. In a fixed bed reactor, low-temperature catalytic pyrolysis was investigated using [...] Read more.
With the increase in population, large amounts of food waste are produced worldwide every day. These leftovers can be used as a source of lignocellulosic waste, oils, and polysaccharides for renewable fuels. In a fixed bed reactor, low-temperature catalytic pyrolysis was investigated using biomass gathered from domestic garbage. Thermogravimetry, under N2 flow, was used to assess the pyrolysis behavior of tea and coffee grounds, white potato, sweet potato, banana peels, walnut, almonds, and hazelnut shells. A mixture of biomass was also evaluated by thermogravimetry. Waste inorganic materials (marble, limestone, dolomite, bauxite, and spent Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalyst) were used as catalysts (16.7% wt.) in the pyrolysis studies at 400 °C in a fixed bed reactor. Yields of bio-oil in the 22–36% wt. range were attained. All of the catalysts promoted gasification and a decrease in the bio-oil carboxylic acids content. The marble dust catalyst increased the bio-oil volatility. The results show that it is possible to valorize lignocellulosic household waste by pyrolysis using inorganic waste materials as catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass)
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24 pages, 4558 KiB  
Review
Air-Polluting Emissions from Pyrolysis Plants: A Systematic Mapping
by Alberto Pivato, Hamad Gohar, Diogenes L. Antille, Andrea Schievano, Giovanni Beggio, Philipp Reichardt, Francesco Di Maria, Wei Peng, Stefano Castegnaro and Maria Cristina Lavagnolo
Environments 2024, 11(7), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070149 - 12 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1041
Abstract
There is a growing interest in the use of pyrolysis plants for the conversion of solid waste into useful products (e.g., oil, gas, and char) and the analysis of air-polluting emissions associated with such a process is an emerging research field. This study [...] Read more.
There is a growing interest in the use of pyrolysis plants for the conversion of solid waste into useful products (e.g., oil, gas, and char) and the analysis of air-polluting emissions associated with such a process is an emerging research field. This study applied a systematic mapping approach to collating, describing, and cataloging available evidence related to the type and level of air pollutants emitted from pyrolysis plants, the factors affecting emissions, and available mitigation strategies that can be adopted to reduce air pollution. The scientific literature indexed in Scopus and Google Scholar, as well as available industry reports, was interrogated to document the evidence. A database comprising 63 studies was synthesized and cataloged from which 25 air pollutants from pyrolysis plants were considered, including volatile organic compounds and persistent organic pollutants. Air pollutant levels varied depending on the scale of the pyrolysis plants, their operating conditions, and the feedstock used. Various technologies, such as wet scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, and baghouse filters, are available and have been utilized to reduce emissions and comply with the existing EU regulations for waste incineration (2010/75/EU). The systematic mapping identified several knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to inform relevant environmental policymaking, technology development, and the adoption of best practices for the mitigation of emissions from pyrolysis plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermochemical Treatments of Biomass)
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