Yuwalee Unpaprom

By Natthawud Dussadee, Yuwalee Unpaprom and Rameshprabu Ramaraj

Renewable energy resources of part of the Asian region are not only able to fight against climate change issues but also could contribute to economic growth, employment, and energy safety. Biogas production and use are generally regarded as a sustainable practice that can guarantee high greenhouse gas savings. Thailand is an agricultural area suitable for growing of many plants, especially annual crops that can be used as an energy crop or raw material for biogas plant. In addition, grassland biomass is suitable in numerous ways for producing energy and is the most common material for producing biogas in the present scenario. There are several types of grasses popularly growing in Thailand. Grasses are converted to silage which will be used as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. Consequently, this chapter addresses the advances in silage preparations and utilization for efficient biogas production with several digestion methods including dry and wet fermentation processes, monodigestions, and co-digestions.

Part of the book: Advances in Silage Production and Utilization

By Obey Gotore, Tirivashe Phillip Masere, Osamu Nakagoe, Vadzanayi Mushayi, Ramaraj Rameshprabu, Yuwalee Unpaprom and Tomoaki Itayama

The use of low-cost agricultural waste-derived biochar in solving water and environmental challenges induced by climate change was investigated and sound conclusions were presented. Water reuse strategies can diminish the impact of climate change in rural and remote areas of developing countries. The novel biochar materials from three agro-waste biomass (Matamba fruit shell, Mushuma, and Mupane tree barks) were investigated and characterized to attest to their capacity to remove iodine from the aqueous solution. Their surface morphologies were assessed using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (FESEM-EDX) which exhibited their structural phenomena to purge environmental pollutants. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was conducted to show surface functional groups of the biochar materials and Matamba fruit shell exhibited hydroxyl (-OH), carbonyl groups (C=O), C=C stretches of aromatic rings, and the carboxylate (C–O–O–) groups on its surface with corresponding data from the Isotherm and Kinetic models, statistically analyzed by the conventional and Bayesian methods. These surface mechanisms are said to be induced by weak van der Waals forces and - and -stacking interaction on the biochar surface. These adsorbents promised to be potential materials for environmental-ecosystem-protection and water re-use approach.

Part of the book: Biochar