Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Oumoul-Kairou Karidio Daouda Idrissa, David Tsuanyo, Rodrigue Adjoumani Kouakou, Yacouba Konate, Boukary Sawadogo, Kouassi Benjamin Yao
Summary: This review examines the parameters that affect biogas yield and provides insights into optimizing production. Through analyzing various substrates, optimal ratios for achieving higher yields were identified. It emphasizes the importance of optimizing biogas production and provides solutions and optimal substrate ratios for improved biogas yield.
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
W. O. Meneses-Quelal, B. Velazquez-Marti, J. Gaibor-Chavez, Z. Nino-Ruiz
Summary: This study evaluated the anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste, manure, and slaughterhouse residues from species typical of the Andes region, such as llama, vicuna, and guinea pig; quinoa, amaranth, and wheat straw. The highest methane production rates were achieved for flame manure and quinoa straw at an RSI of 1:2, with significant increases compared to an RSI of 1:1. The modified Gompertz model proved to be the best fit for performance analysis, with a constant difference of 7.06% between experimental and predicted values.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
F. Granzotto, C. Aita, D. D. Silveira, F. D. Mayer, S. B. Pujol, J. A. Pinas, R. Hoffmann
Summary: Anaerobic digestion proved to be an efficient method for treating organic wastes from university restaurants, achieving high removal rates of pollutants and producing biogas and digestate for potential use as organic fertilizer.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Oluwafunmilayo Abiola Aworanti, Oluseye Omotoso Agbede, Samuel Enahoro Agarry, Ayobami Olu Ajani, Oyetola Ogunkunle, Opeyeolu Timothy Laseinde, S. M. Ashrafur Rahman, Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah
Summary: The continual generation and discharge of waste are significant environmental problems worldwide, and anaerobic digestion (AD) process technology is considered one of the best options due to its ability to generate renewable energy. This paper reviews the current knowledge on AD process technologies and discusses potential future research directions.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sameer Ahmad Khan, Tinku Casper D' Silva, Subodh Kumar, Ram Chandra, Virendra Kumar Vijay, Ashish Misra
Summary: The biogas sector has been a prominent figure in renewable energy sources, with Biochar playing a crucial role in its development by offering opportunities for advancements in biogas production, upgradation, and bottling for energy applications. Various properties of biochar have been identified to address challenges in the sector and enhance the different subsidiaries. Incorporating biochar could open up new opportunities for biomethane applications within the biogas sector, leading to a self-resource sufficient biochar-biogas closed-loop system for efficient utilization of waste biomasses.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Shuaishuai Ma, Hongliang Wang, Binshou Wang, Xiaohui Gu, Wanbin Zhu
Summary: The study demonstrated that pretreatment with CO2 and liquid digestate from anaerobic digestion can improve the glucose and xylose content of corn straw, reduce cellulose crystallinity, and increase methane yield. However, high temperature pretreatment resulted in the production of inhibitors that decreased methane production during subsequent anaerobic digestion. The changes in microbial community in the pretreated slurry at lower temperature were found to enhance the overall performance of anaerobic digestion.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sara Pardilho, Rui Boaventura, Manuel Almeida, Joana Maia Dias
Summary: The study evaluated marine macroalgae waste as feedstock for anaerobic digestion processes, finding that the highest biogas volume and methane concentration were obtained at a total solids content of 2.5% TS. The experiments showed an average of 43% COD reduction and 46% VS reduction after 57 days, corresponding to about 27% of the theoretical maximum methane production. However, inhibition of the process was observed when using 3.5% TS, likely due to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sanjukta Subudhi, Koel Saha, Divya Mudgil, Prakash Kumar Sarangi, Rajesh K. Srivastava, Mrinal Kumar Sarma
Summary: Biomethanol has shown promising potential as a value-added product in the field of sustainable energy. This article explores the production process and application of biomethanol, with a focus on the role of microbial physiology in converting feedstock into biomethanol. Furthermore, strategies to reduce production costs and overcome barriers to commercial production are discussed.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Amith Abraham, Hyojung Park, Okkyoung Choi, Byoung-In Sang
Summary: The world of bioplastics has rapidly expanded, generating new waste streams that pose challenges to waste processing; anaerobic co-digestion is considered the best option for efficient bioplastic waste processing with reduced space requirements and environmental pollution; the higher C/N ratio of bioplastics presents a challenge to anaerobic digestion, but co-digestion with lower C/N ratio biowastes can improve biogas production.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Halil Senol
Summary: This study evaluated the combined effect of alkaline-thermal and mild ultrasonic pretreatments on the anaerobic digestion of chestnut shells. The treated shells showed a significant increase in biomethane yields compared to the untreated shells. The solubilization of lignocellulosic compounds and the increased solubility of lignin were found to be positively correlated with the biomethane yields.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yeqing Li, Shasha Yu, Xingru Yang, Yijing Feng, Liming Dong, Yi Zhang, Lu Feng, Mahmoud Mazarji, Junting Pan
Summary: This study investigated the structural differences of humic acids (HAs) derived from different feedstocks and their effects on anaerobic digestion (AD). The study found that HAs with higher carboxyl and phenolic hydroxyl groups showed greater inhibition effect on AD. Different feedstock-derived HAs exhibited variations in aromaticity and humification degree, confirming the influence of HA structures on AD.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Samson Nnaemeka Ugwu, Kevin Harding, Christopher Chintua Enweremadu
Summary: This study conducted a comparative assessment of the potential environmental impacts of biogas production from enhanced anaerobic digestion using different enhancement options for agro-industrial wastes. The results revealed that the combined enhancement option (co-digestion + PPy/Fe3O4 NPs) had the least global warming potential.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sara Plude, Goksel N. Demirer
Summary: The study evaluated the anaerobic digestibility and biogas production potential of microalgal biomass and food waste. Results showed that co-digestion of microalgal biomass and food waste increased methane production by up to 12.3% compared to mono-digestion. Integrating mechanical harvesting of harmful algal blooms (HABs) with valorization of the collected algal biomass can enhance economic feasibility and generate extra bio-methane.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Mohsen Karrabi, Fahime Mosadegh Ranjbar, Bahar Shahnavaz, Saba Seyedi
Summary: Recently, there has been growing interest in using organic or biodegradable wastes, including lignocellulosic wastes (LWs), as renewable energy sources. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of these wastes can mitigate environmental damage and produce biogas and bioenergy, which is particularly valuable in developing countries. However, there are several challenges to overcome, such as waste floating on top of reactors, high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (CNR), complex structure of LWs, and poor degradability due to high lignin content. These challenges can be addressed through methods like mixing in reactors, reducing CNR, balancing inoculum-to-substrate ratio (ISR), and pretreatments. This study aims to review the literature on AD of LWs, identify existing challenges, and propose strategies to improve bioenergy production from this waste.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Alyne Martins Maciel, Marcelo Henrique Otenio, Vanessa Romario de Paula, Virginia Mendonca Lourenco Benhami, Cassiano Moro Piekarski, Camila Marcal da Rocha, Nathan Oliveira Barros
Summary: The environmental impacts of milk production farms in Brazil were assessed using LCA, and it was found that anaerobic digestion can significantly reduce the impacts on acidification, eutrophication, and climate change by 25% to 38%.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES AND ASSESSMENTS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Nepu Saha, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a thermochemical process that produces functionalized carbon-rich solid materials known as hydrochar by treating biomass with water at subcritical conditions. Pyrolysis is often used to increase the surface area and expose corresponding functional groups of amorphous carbon materials like hydrochar. The study aimed to quantify basic functional groups on hydrochars and investigate the effect of pyrolysis temperature on these functional groups.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Akbar Saba, Nepu Saha, Keenan-Conrad Williams, Charles J. Coronella, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: This study investigated the effects of torrefaction temperature, pelletization temperature, and pelletization pressure on the energy density of torrefied char pellets using multivariate analyses and multivariate linear regression. The statistical analysis showed that all independent parameters are statistically significant for energy density, and the regression analysis indicated that mass density, higher heating value, and energy density have the highest output predictability.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Md Rifat Hasan, Nepu Saha, Thomas Quaid, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are nanomaterials with a wide range of applications such as medical diagnostics, bio-imaging, biosensors, coatings, solar cells, and photocatalysis. The optical properties of CQDs are highly dependent on the type of precursor used, with different feedstocks resulting in variations in absorption and emission behavior.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Md Tahmid Islam, Nepu Saha, Sergio Hernandez, Jordan Klinger, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: Air classification (AC) and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) are effective technologies for energy recovery of corn stover, with integrated AC-HTC process achieving higher energy recovery compared to AC-only scenario.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Al Ibtida Sultana, Nepu Saha, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: Hydrogen (H-2) is considered a potential cost-efficient clean fuel due to its high energy content and sustainability. However, transportation and storage of H-2 remain major challenges for a sustainable H-2 economy. Developing biomass-based activated carbons as effective H-2 storage materials has been emphasized as a way to address these challenges.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Pretom Saha, Nepu Saha, Shanta Mazumder, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: Co-hydrothermal carbonization (Co-HTC) treatment can significantly reduce the total sulfur content in the hydrochar phase, indicating its effectiveness. At 230 degrees Celsius, the total sulfur content of CW1FW and CW2FW decreased by up to 49% and 65% respectively, with a similar reduction in organic sulfur as well.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Kyle McGaughy, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: This study investigated the use of deep eutectic solvents (DES) for separating aromatic and aliphatic compounds, revealing that some DES performed poorly in extracting benzene and cyclohexane. The COSMO model accurately predicted the liquid-liquid equilibrium for DES with ethylene glycol as hydrogen bond donors, but less accurately for DES with glycerol. Experimental results showed variations in mass transfer rates among different DES combinations, indicating that the effectiveness of the solvent was not solely determined by its ability to dissolve benzene.
Editorial Material
Energy & Fuels
M. Toufiq Reza
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Al Ibtida Sultana, Cadianne Chambers, Muzammil M. N. Ahmed, Pavithra Pathirathna, Toufiq Reza
Summary: The pore modulation via hydrothermal carbonization was investigated to understand its effect on the surface properties that influence the multirole utilization of ultraporous sorbents in various applications. Superactivated hydrochars (SAH) were synthesized by hydrothermal carbonization followed by KOH activation using loblolly pine. The SAHs exhibited excellent performance in CO2 capture, H2 storage, supercapacitance, and dye removal. The results showed that the HTC temperature played a crucial role in determining the surface porosity and the corresponding performance of the SAHs.
Review
Energy & Fuels
Md Tahmid Islam, Al Ibtida Sultana, Cadianne Chambers, Swarna Saha, Nepu Saha, Kawnish Kirtania, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: This article reviews various emerging applications of hydrochars produced by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), and discusses the working mechanism of hydrochars and the improvement of applications through chemical modification. New perspectives and recommendations are provided to further explore potential applications and improvements of hydrochars and their modified versions.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Abu-Taher Jamal-Uddin, M. Toufiq Reza, Omid Norouzi, Shakirudeen A. Salaudeen, Animesh Dutta, Richard G. Zytner
Summary: This study focused on the recovery and reuse of valuable chemicals from hydrothermal carbonization process liquid (HTC-PL) obtained from tomato plant biomass (TPB). Various valuable chemicals were successfully separated and extracted, and their potential application for greenhouse winter heating was demonstrated.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Vahab Ghalandari, Hunter Smith, Maurizio Volpe, Antonio Messineo, Toufiq Reza
Summary: This study investigates the effect of acidic hydrochar on the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of waste PVC. The results show that acidic hydrochar enhances the conversion of PVC during HTL and produces plastic crude oil with a higher heating value.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Quaid, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are widely used compounds with a greenhouse potential 22,000 times higher than CO2. In this study, researchers examined 1298 type-5 deep eutectic solvents (DES) for their absorption and interaction mechanisms with difluoromethane (R32), and found that quaternary ammonium salts mixed with various hydrogen bond donators (HBD) showed the most favorable interactions. Compositional analysis showed that pure tetrabutylammonium bromide had the strongest interaction potential. Pressure study demonstrated that solubility increased linearly with pressure, reaching up to 86 mol/mol% in a mixture of methyltrioctylammonium bromide and polyethylene glycol at 9 bar. The driving force of absorption was van der Waals interaction, which released approximately 3 times more enthalpy than hydrogen bonding. Through environmental health and safety analysis, all chemicals showed strong potential for environmentally friendly solutions.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Swarna Saha, Md Tahmid Islam, Joshua Calhoun, Toufiq Reza
Summary: This study assessed the fuel properties, physicochemical attributes, and combustion properties of shrimp shell hydrochar produced through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) at temperatures ranging from 110 to 290°C. The findings demonstrated that higher HTC temperatures resulted in lower mass yield, increased thermal stability, and higher energy densification of the hydrochar compared to raw shrimp shell. The hydrochars produced at higher temperatures also exhibited reduced slagging, fouling, alkali index, and chlorine content, indicating a lower risk of reactor fouling during combustion.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Thomas Quaid, M. Toufiq Reza
Summary: This study used COSMO-RS to investigate the impact of temperature, pressure, and selective contaminants on five DES. The HBDonor of the solvent was found to be the most important factor for CO2 solubility, while alkyl chain length, associated halogen, and polarity of the DES also played a role. Choline chloride-urea was the most selective to CO2, but had low solubility, while tetraoctylammonium chloride-decanoic acid was the least selective, had high solubility, and was less affected by its environment.
CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES
(2021)
