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Processes
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Catalytic Biomass Fractionation
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Catalytic Biomass Fractionation

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalysis Enhanced Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 10939

Special Issue Editor

Dr. M. (Maxim) Galkin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Interests: biomass valorization; catalysis; green chemistry; biofuels; biorenewable polymers; biorefinery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The depletion of fossil resources and food and water shortage associated with population growth encourage the search for alternative way to produce fuels, chemicals, and materials. Perspective solutions should mitigate climate change, reduce fossil-fuel dependence, and not be competitive with the food production. The replacement of fossil raw materials by biomass is foreseen.

The conversion of biomass is difficult and inefficient due to biomass recalcitrance. Many factors contribute to the recalcitrance of biomass to chemicals and enzymes. The complexity of the biomass matrix, crystallinity of cellulose, and the inhibition of enzymatic activity by lignin are a few among them. Biomass fractionation is the key process to unlock biomass potential and enable its full utilization. The aim of this Special Issue is to cover an efficient and green catalytic pretreatment and fractionation methods. Successful methods should be able to overcome biomass recalcitrance and enable tailoring valorization.

I would like to invite authors to publish relevant papers and short reviews on advances, challenges, and perspectives in the field. Experimental, theoretical, and computational research are all encouraged, including but not limited to:

  • Catalysis application in pretreatment and fractionation processes for biomass;
  • Integration and intensification of processes for complete biomass conversion;
  • Identification of challenges and gaps in scale-up of fractionation methods;
  • Technoeconomic and life-cycle analysis.

Dr. M. (Maxim) Galkin
Guest Editor

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. Processes 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 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

  • catalytic biomass fractionation
  • biorefinery
  • lignocellulose
  • biomass valorization
  • homogeneous catalysis
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • biocatalysis
  • reductive biomass fractionation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1154 KiB  
Article
Optimization Study of Biomass Hydrogenation to Ethylene Glycol Using Response Surface Methodology
by Poh Gaik Law, Noor Haida Sebran, Ashraf Zin Zawawi and Azlan Shah Hussain
Processes 2020, 8(5), 588; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr8050588 - 15 May 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2829
Abstract
Statistical-based study using response surface methodology (RSM) was conducted to study the effects of process parameters towards biomass hydrogenation. Using Malaysian oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) fibres as feedstock, the central composite design (CCD) technique was employed and 18 runs were generated [...] Read more.
Statistical-based study using response surface methodology (RSM) was conducted to study the effects of process parameters towards biomass hydrogenation. Using Malaysian oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) fibres as feedstock, the central composite design (CCD) technique was employed and 18 runs were generated by CCD when four parameters (mass ratio of binary catalyst, hydrogen pressure, temperature and mass ratio of catalyst to feedstock) were varied with two center points to determine the effects of process parameters and eventually to get optimum ethylene glycol (EG) yield. RSM with quadratic function was generated for biomass hydrogenation, indicating all factors except temperature, were important in determining EG yield. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high coefficient of determination (R2) value of >0.98, ensuring a satisfactory prediction of the quadratic model with experimental data. The quadratic model suggested the optimum EG yield should be >25 wt.% and the EG yield results were successfully reproduced in the laboratory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Biomass Fractionation)
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11 pages, 2877 KiB  
Article
Exploitation of Wheat Straw Biorefinery Side Streams as Sustainable Substrates for Microorganisms: A Feasibility Study
by Stefan Beisl, Julian Quehenberger, Donya Kamravamanesh, Oliver Spadiut and Anton Friedl
Processes 2019, 7(12), 956; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr7120956 - 13 Dec 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3881
Abstract
Lignocellulosic agricultural side products, like wheat straw, are widely seen as an important contribution to a future sustainable economy. However, optimization of biorefinery processes and exploitation of all side streams are crucial for an economically viable biorefinery. Pretreatment of lignocellulosic raw material, which [...] Read more.
Lignocellulosic agricultural side products, like wheat straw, are widely seen as an important contribution to a future sustainable economy. However, optimization of biorefinery processes and exploitation of all side streams are crucial for an economically viable biorefinery. Pretreatment of lignocellulosic raw material, which is necessary for further processing steps, can generate low-value side streams. In this feasibility study, side streams from a liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment of wheat straw were utilized for the production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and highly valuable tetraether lipids (TELs). Additional value created by these products can benefit the biorefinery’s economic operation. The utilized wheat straw was pretreated at 120 °C and 170 °C for up to two hours in laboratory and lab scale. The resulting side stream consists mainly of carbohydrates from hemicelluloses and fermentation inhibitors such as acetic acid. In order to achieve a successful production of both products, an acetic acid separation via distillation was necessary. Subsequently, the acetic acid fraction was utilized for the PHB production using cyanobacteria. The carbohydrate-rich fraction was applied in the cultivation of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and resulted in the successful production of TELs. Both fractions achieved better fermentation yields compared to their corresponding reference media. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Biomass Fractionation)
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16 pages, 2653 KiB  
Article
Production Process and Optimization of Solid Bioethanol from Empty Fruit Bunches of Palm Oil Using Response Surface Methodology
by Nurfahmi, M. Mofijur, Hwai Chyuan Ong, Badrul Mohamed Jan, Fitranto Kusumo, Abdi Hanra Sebayang, Hazlina Husin, Arridina Susan Silitonga, Teuku Meurah Indra Mahlia and S. M. Ashrafur Rahman
Processes 2019, 7(10), 715; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr7100715 - 08 Oct 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3765
Abstract
This study aimed to observe the potential of solid bioethanol as an alternative fuel with high caloric value. The solid bioethanol was produced from liquid bioethanol, which was obtained from the synthesis of oil palm empty fruit bunches (PEFBs) through the delignification process [...] Read more.
This study aimed to observe the potential of solid bioethanol as an alternative fuel with high caloric value. The solid bioethanol was produced from liquid bioethanol, which was obtained from the synthesis of oil palm empty fruit bunches (PEFBs) through the delignification process by using organosolv pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymatic hydrolysis was conducted using enzyme (60 FPUg−1 of cellulose) at a variety of temperatures (35 °C, 70 °C, and 90 °C) and reaction times (2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 h) in order to obtain a high sugar yield. The highest sugars were yielded at the temperature of 90 °C for 48 h (152.51 mg/L). Furthermore, fermentation was conducted using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The bioethanol yield after fermentation was 62.29 mg/L. Bioethanol was extracted by distillation process to obtain solid bioethanol. The solid bioethanol was produced by using stearic acid as the additive. In order to get high-quality solid bioethanol, the calorific value was optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM) model. This model provided the factor variables of bioethanol concentration (vol %), stearic acid (g), and bioethanol (mL) with a minus result error. The highest calorific value was obtained with 7 g stearic acid and 5 mL bioethanol (43.17 MJ/kg). Burning time was tested to observe the quality of the solid bioethanol. The highest calorific value resulted in the longest burning time. The solid bioethanol has a potential as solid fuel due to the significantly higher calorific value compared to the liquid bioethanol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Biomass Fractionation)
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