Biofuels Production from Biomass by Thermochemical Conversion Technologies

International Journal of Chemical Engineering, Apr 2012

Agricultural biomass as an energy resource has several environmental and economical advantages and has potential to substantially contribute to present days’ fuel demands. Currently, thermochemical processes for agricultural biomass to energy transformation seem promising and feasible. The relative advantage of thermochemical conversion over others is due to higher productivity and compatibility with existing infrastructure facilities. However, the majority of these processes are still under development phase and trying to secure a market share due to various challenges, right from suitable infrastructure, raw material, technical limitations, government policies, and social acceptance. The knowledge at hand suggests that biomass can become a sustainable and major contributor to the current energy demands, if research and development are encouraged in the field of thermochemical conversion for various agricultural biomass types. This paper intends to explore the physical and chemical characteristics of biofuel substitutes of fossil fuels, potential biomass sources, and process parameters for thermochemical conversion.

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Biofuels Production from Biomass by Thermochemical Conversion Technologies

Biofuels Production from Biomass by Thermochemical Conversion Technologies M. Verma,1,2 S. Godbout,1 S. K. Brar,3 O. Solomatnikova,2 S. P. Lemay,1 and J. P. Larouche1 1Institut de Recherche et de Développement en Agroenvironnement Inc. (IRDA), 2700 Rue Einstein, QC, Canada G1P 3W8 2Centre de Recherche Industrielle du Québec (CRIQ), 333 Rue Franquet, QC, Canada G1C 4C7 3Le Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS-ETE), 490 de la Couronne, QC, Canada G1K 9A9 Received 29 September 2011; Accepted 12 December 2011 Academic Editor: Santiago Esplugas Copyright © 2012 M. Verma et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Agricultural biomass as an energy resource has several environmental and economical advantages and has potential to substantially contribute to present days’ fuel demands. Currently, thermochemical processes for agricultural biomass to energy transformation seem promising and feasible. The relative advantage of thermochemical conversion over others is due to higher productivity and compatibility with existing infrastructure facilities. However, the majority of these processes are still under development phase and trying to secure a market share due to various challenges, right from suitable infrastructure, raw material, technical limitations, government policies, and social acceptance. The knowledge at hand suggests that biomass can become a sustainable and major contributor to the current energy demands, if research and development are encouraged in the field of thermochemical conversion for various agricultural biomass types. This paper intends to explore the physical and chemical characteristics of biofuel substitutes of fossil fuels, potential biomass sources, and process parameters for thermochemical conversion. 1. Introduction Current energy crisis is a product of tremendous amount of pressure on world fossil fuel supply and reserve, which is also implicated with the recent strides of economic developments of countries such as China and India, among others, which are net importers of fossil fuels [1]. The surge in fossil fuel cost (≅US$150 per barrel) in the recent past clearly indicated that biomass-based fuel options could be more competitive during peak demand periods and a viable mode at other times. The increasing concern over climate change is another important factor that has highlighted the environmental benefits (minimal net greenhouse gas emissions) of the biomass utilization. Most recently, the deep sea crude oil spewing disaster in April 2010 (BP PLC.-Deepwater Horizon oil spill; about 207 million gallons within 3 months period) has undoubtedly confirmed the risks of over exploitation fossil fuel. This incident strengthen the notion of gradual implementation of safe renewable sources to fuel existing fleet of fossil fuel powered domestic, commercial, transportation, and industrial sector. Over the last several decades various researchers have investigated biomethanation, fermentation, and thermochemical pathways for the conversion of biomass to biofuels as energy sources, which is currently getting the attention that was deserved. In general, the biomass could be a complex mixture of organic materials such as carbohydrates (hemicellulose, cellulose, and starch), lignin, fats, and proteins; however, the physiochemical characteristics of biomass vary in discrete fashion with their source. For example, the primary components of the biomass from plant/crop origins are carbohydrates and lignin which can vary with plant type. The source of some biomass includes plant/crop roots, seeds, and seed residue which are rich in starch and fats. On the other hand, many of the biomass types are by products/waste of crops, forest residue, construction and demolition waste, municipal waste, cattle, and human waste. As it was mentioned above, the utilization of biomass as liquid biofuels is a necessary alternative to avoid harmful effects of direct combustion of biomass (as unprocessed/raw solid fuels) which can led to poor air quality, secondary pollution, and undesired health impacts [2]. At present, several biomass thermochemical conversion equipments exist which can transform agricultural biomass into biofuels/bioenergy [3–6]. Nevertheless, there is a great challenge for a farm producer to select the best option due to the infancy of these technologies, intended application (mainly, wood biomass at large scale) as well as a lack of a standard protocol/strategy for agricultural biomass management into bioenergy/biofuels. In brief, a methane digester could be a very attractive solution for handling cattle manure; however, in cold climatic conditions, sensitivity of anaerobic fermentation and secondary waste from digestion process can be huge setbacks [7, 8]. Simi (...truncated)


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M. Verma, S. Godbout, S. K. Brar, O. Solomatnikova, S. P. Lemay, J. P. Larouche. Biofuels Production from Biomass by Thermochemical Conversion Technologies, International Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2012, 2012, DOI: 10.1155/2012/542426