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Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 16885

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sara Pinzi

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Guest Editor

Department of Physical Chemistry and Applied Thermodynamics, EPS, Ed Leonardo da Vinci, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario, ceiA3, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: biofuel; biodiesel; biorefinery

Prof. María del Pilar Dorado Pérez

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Guest Editor

Department of Physical Chemistry and Applied Thermodynamics, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
Interests: biofuel; biodiesel; biorefinery; engine; exhaust emission

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Prospects of biomass-based biofuels: raw materials, conversion technologies, engine combustion and exhaust emission control strategies

The recent Agreement signed in Paris in 2015, within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, warned about the irreversible harmful effect over the climate that would be produced by an increase in global average temperature of 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Taking urgent action is mandatory to prevent surpassing the expected two degrees Celsius this century, thus combating climate change. As a result of this commitment, leaders of many industrialized countries are adopting laws to decarbonize the transport sector, and most of them include abolition of vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine. However, majority of countries are not embracing such laws. Moreover, three years later and according to UN experts, most major polluting countries are not on track to meet Paris goals. So, less-contaminant renewable fuels are urgently needed. In the new scenario of harder air pollution regulations, biofuels represent an interesting alternative to fossil fuels in the automotive, shipping and aviation sectors.

Nevertheless, biofuels need to address several challenges, namely suitability of new feedstocks such as lignocellulosic-based material or residues, low cost and energy saving conversion-to-fuel processes, engine performance tests and exhaust emission control strategies.

This Special Issue aims to publish a critical review and in-depth technical research papers on future trends of biofuels for internal combustion engines, with a global point of view: all life cycle of biofuels will be studied. In this sense, studies of advanced conversion techniques and biorefinery development for biofuel production are also welcomed. Research involving experimental and numerical studies, recent developments, novel and emerging technologies are highly encouraged. Studies about stationary or transient tests of internal combustion engines fuelled by biofuels are very appreciated, including exhaust emissions, energy efficiency, performance and life cycle analysis.

Prof. Sara Pinzi
Prof. María del Pilar Dorado Pérez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

biodiesel
bioethanol
biogas
glycerol
biorefinery
extraction from biomass
biomass-to-fuel conversion
fermentation
catalysis
diesel engine
spark ignition engine
exhaust emission
emission control strategy
combustion analysis

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3138 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance and Exhaust Emissions of a Spark Ignition Internal Combustion Engine Fed with Butanol–Glycerol Blend

by Stanislaw Szwaja, Michal Gruca, Michal Pyrc and Romualdas Juknelevičius

Energies 2021, 14(20), 6473; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14206473 - 10 Oct 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1448

Abstract

Investigation of a new type of fuel for the internal combustion engine, which can be successfully used in both the power generation and the automotive industries, is presented in this article. The proposed fuel is a blend of 75% n-butanol and 25% glycerol. The engine tests conducted with this glycerol–butanol blend were focused on the performance, combustion thermodynamics, and exhaust emissions of a spark-ignition engine. A comparative analysis was performed to find potential similarities and differences in the engine fueled with gasoline 95 and the proposed glycerol–butanol blend. As measured, CO exhaust emissions increased, NOx emissions decreased, and UHC emissions were unchanged for the glycerol–butanol blend when compared to the test with sole gasoline. As regards the engine performance and combustion progress, no significant differences were observed. Exhaust temperature remarkably decreased by 3.4%, which contributed to an increase in the indicated mean effective pressure by approximately 4% compared to gasoline 95. To summarize, the proposed glycerol–butanol blend can be directly used as a replacement for gasoline in internal combustion spark-ignition engines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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11 pages, 1694 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tribological Performance of Biomass-Derived Bio-Alcohol and Bio-Ketone Fuels

by Omid Doustdar, Soheil Zeraati-Rezaei, Jose Martin Herreros, Athanasios Tsolakis, Karl D. Dearn and Miroslaw Lech Wyszynski

Energies 2021, 14(17), 5331; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14175331 - 27 Aug 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1398

Abstract

This study relates to developing future alternative fuels and focuses on the effects of a fuel’s molecular structure on its properties and performance in advanced propulsion systems. The tribological performance of various biomass-derived oxygenated alternative fuels, including butanol, pentanol, cyclopentanol, cyclopentanone, and gasoline and their blends with diesel, was investigated. Lubricity tests were conducted using a high-frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR). Cyclopentanone-diesel and cyclopentanol-diesel blends result in smaller wear scar sizes compared to using their neat forms. A lower steel disc contaminated with the alternative fuels during the HFRR tests resulted in worn surface roughness values lower than those of the neat diesel by up to 20%. It is believed that these reductions are mainly due to the presence of the hydroxyl group and the carbonyl group in alcohols and ketones, respectively, which make them more polar and consequently helps the formation of the protective lubrication film on the worn moving surfaces during the sliding process. Overall, the results from this study indicate that environmentally friendly cyclopentanol and cyclopentanone are practical and efficient fuel candidates for future advanced propulsion systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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15 pages, 2020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pseudo-Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Kinetic Models of the NaOH-Catalyzed Methanolysis Reaction for Biodiesel Production

by Silvia Zabala, Inés Reyero, Idoia Campo, Gurutze Arzamendi and Luis M. Gandía

Energies 2021, 14(14), 4192; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14144192 - 11 Jul 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1901

Abstract

Methanolysis of vegetable oils in the presence of homogeneous catalysts remains the most important process for producing biodiesel. However, there is still a lack of accurate description of the reaction kinetics. This is in part due to the complexity of the reacting system in which a large number of interconnected reactions take place simultaneously. In this work, attention is focused on the biphasic character of the reaction medium, formed by two immiscible liquid phases. The behavior of the phases is investigated regarding their physicochemical properties, mainly density and mutual solubility of the components, as well as composition. In addition, two kinetic models with different level of complexity regarding the biphasic character of the reaction medium have been developed. It has been found that a heterogeneous model considering the presence of the two phases and the distribution of the several compounds between them is indispensable to get a good description of the process in terms of oil conversion and products yields. The model captures the effects of the main variables of an isothermal batch methanolysis process: methanol/oil molar ratio, reaction time and catalyst concentration. Nevertheless, some adjustment is still required as concerns modelling of the saponification reactions and catalyst deactivation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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17 pages, 3394 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Short Carbon-Chain Alcohol (Ethanol and 1-Propanol)/Diesel Fuel Blends over Diesel Engine Emissions

by María D. Redel-Macías, David E. Leiva-Candia, José A. Soriano, José M. Herreros, Antonio J. Cubero-Atienza and Sara Pinzi

Energies 2021, 14(5), 1309; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14051309 - 27 Feb 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2461

Abstract

Oxygenated fuels, in this case short carbon-chain alcohols, have been investigated as alternative fuels to power compression ignition engines. A major advantage of short-chain alcohols is that they can be produced from renewable resources, i.e., cultivated commodities or biomass-based biorefineries. However, before entering the market, the effects of short-chain alcohols on engine performance, exhaust emissions, noise and sound quality need to be understood. This work sheds light on the relationship between the physicochemical properties of the alcohol/diesel fuel blends (ethanol and 1-propanol) on engine performance, exhaust emissions and, for the first time, on noise and sound quality. It has been demonstrated that when the content of alcohol in blends increased, soot and soluble organic material emissions drastically decreased, mainly due to the increase of oxygen content in the fuel. Reduction in soot emissions combined with higher thermodynamic efficiency of alcohol fuels, with respect to diesel fuel, enable their utilization on compression ignition engines. There is also an improvement in the soot-NO_x trade off, leading to large reductions on soot with a small effect on NO_x emissions. The oxygen content within the fuel reduces CO and THC emissions at extra-urban driving operation conditions. However, hydrocarbons and CO emissions increased at urban driving conditions, due to the high heat of vaporization of the alcohol fuels which reduces cylinder temperature worsening fuel atomization, vaporization and mixing with air being more significant at lower cylinder temperature conditions (low engine loads and speeds). Similarly, the higher the presence of alcohol in the blend, the higher the noise emitted by the engine due to their low tendency to auto-ignition. The optimization of alcohol quantity and the calibration of engine control parameters (e.g., injection settings) which is out of the scope of this work, will be required to overcome noise emission penalty. Furthermore, under similar alcohol content in the blend (10% v/v), the use of propanol is preferred over ethanol, as it exhibits lower exhaust emissions and better sound quality than ethanol. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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10 pages, 1825 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Purification of Methyl Acetate/Water Mixtures from Chemical Interesterification of Vegetable Oils by Pervaporation

by Abraham Casas, Ángel Pérez and María Jesús Ramos

Energies 2021, 14(3), 775; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14030775 - 02 Feb 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2632

Abstract

Biodiesel production through chemical interesterification of triglycerides requires an excess of methyl acetate that must be recovered once the reaction is finished and the catalyst is neutralized. The present study concerns with the purification of methyl acetate by pervaporation. PERVAP 2201 was chosen as pervaporation membrane due to its high hydrophilic character that makes it suitable for the elimination of water in methyl acetate. Runs were started from concentrations in the feed of 2–8 wt.% of water and working temperatures close to the boiling point of methyl acetate (50, 60, and 70 °C), to get the main design parameters, i.e., permeate flux and selectivity. High temperature favored the permeate flux without compromising the selectivity. However, the flux declines significantly when water contained in the feed is below 2 wt.%. This implies that pervaporation should be used, only to decrease the water content to a value lower than in the azeotrope (2.3% by weight). A solution-diffusion model relating the flux of the permeating compound with the activity of the compound in the feed and the operating temperature has been proposed. The model obtained can be used in the design of the pervaporation stage, thus allowing to know the permeate flux for the different operating conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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18 pages, 3180 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Future Renewable Fuel Mixes in Transport in Germany under RED II and Climate Protection Targets

by Kathleen Meisel, Markus Millinger, Karin Naumann, Franziska Müller-Langer, Stefan Majer and Daniela Thrän

Energies 2020, 13(7), 1712; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13071712 - 03 Apr 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3685

Abstract

With the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001 (RED II), adopted in December 2018, the EU is continuing the political framework for the use of renewable energy sources in the transport sector for the period from 2021 to 2030. At the same time, the German federal government has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector by at least 40% to 42% by 2030 compared to the 1990 GHG level. To investigate the possible effects of the European and national requirements on the German GHG quota, cost-optimal fuel mixes were modelled to achieve the GHG targets of 26 fuel options in each of the nine different scenarios. The results show clear differences between the scenarios that implement the RED II targets (including 14% renewables in transport by 2030) and those that implement the climate protection target (40–42% GHG reduction compared to 1990 by 2030). If only the minimum requirements of RED II are met, the German climate protection target is clearly missed without further measures. In order to achieve the climate protection target, a significant reduction in the final energy consumption in transport is required, as well as a very high GHG quota of 34.5%, meaning a high proportion of renewables of ca. 40% and using almost all the fuel options considered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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10 pages, 1462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Production of Carbohydrates from Cardoon Pre-Treated by Acid-Catalyzed Steam Explosion and Enzymatic Hydrolysis

by Alessandro Bertini, Mattia Gelosia, Gianluca Cavalaglio, Marco Barbanera, Tommaso Giannoni, Giorgia Tasselli, Andrea Nicolini and Franco Cotana

Energies 2019, 12(22), 4288; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en12224288 - 11 Nov 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2220

Abstract

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is a promising crop from which to obtain oilseeds and lignocellulosic biomass. Acid-catalyzed steam explosion is a thermochemical process that can efficiently pre-treat lignocellulosic biomass. The drawback is the production of a high number of carbohydrate degradation products in the liquid fraction that could inhibit microbial growth. In this work, the lignocellulosic biomass of cardoon, gathered from a dedicated field, were used as the raw material for the production of fermentable monosaccharides by employing acid-catalyzed steam explosion. The raw material was pre-soaked with a dilute 1% (w/w) sulfuric acid solution and then subjected to steam explosion under three different severity conditions. The recovered slurry was separated into solid and liquid fractions, which were individually characterized to determine total carbohydrate and inhibitor concentrations. The slurry and the washed solid fraction underwent enzymatic hydrolysis to release glucose and pentose monosaccharides. By conducting the pre-treatment at 175 °C for 35 min and hydrolyzing the obtained slurry, a yield of 33.17 g of monosaccharides/100 g of cardoon was achieved. At the same conditions, 4.39 g of inhibitors/100 g of cardoon were produced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospects of Biomass-Based Biofuels)

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