Chapters authored
Recent Perspectives in Biochar Production, Characterization and Applications
This chapter presents the most promising features and applications of biochar along with their optimal pyrolysis conditions. Biochars have a range of physicochemical properties depending on the feedstock and pyrolysis conditions, which greatly affect their wide applications. The biochar production and its characteristics, including the effect of feedstocks and different process-parameters on the properties and yield of biochar are thoroughly examined. The higher pyrolysis-temperature can give higher carbon-contents, pH, and surface-areas of biochars while volatiles and molar-ratios of O/C, H/C and N/C decrease with pyrolysis-temperature. Higher carbon-content and neutral-pH biochars have high affinity for organic pollutants due to high surface areas, making them attractive for adsorption and catalysis purposes. Biochars with higher-pH are preferred for soil application to correct soil-acidity. Thus, the pyrolysis temperature should be selected as per the final application of the biochar. Characterization of biochars of different feedstocks and pyrolysis conditions is reviewed and presented along with their proximate and ultimate analysis.
Part of the book: Recent Perspectives in Pyrolysis Research
Lactic Acid Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass
This chapter presents bio-based lactic acid production process from lignocellulosic biomass. Bio-based chemicals can replace the chemicals that we usually get from petroleum-based resources, and they are used to produce cleaners, solvents, adhesives, paints, plastics, textiles, and many other products. Lactic acid is one of such candidates of bio-based chemicals with important applications in various industrial sectors such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries, where its demand is steadily increasing. It is also an essential building block for numerous commodity and intermediate-biobased chemicals making it as a suitable alternative to their fossil-derived counterparts. The bioconversion process of transforming lignocellulosic biomass into lactic acid consists of four primary stages. Initially, pretreatment is performed to enable the utilization of all C5 and C6 sugars by the selected microorganism. These sugars are then hydrolyzed and fermented by a suitable microorganism to produce either L- or D-lactic acid, depending on the desired stereochemistry. Finally, the lactic acid is separated and purified from the fermentation broth to obtain a purified product. The promising method for the industrial production of bio-based lactic acid will be of continuous simultaneous saccharification and fermentation in a gypsum-free process using Mg(OH)2 as neutralizer, followed by reactive distillation for purified lactic acid production. The cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment model for the biobased lactic acid production process indicated that the about 80–99% of the environmental burdens of most of the environmental impact categories can be reduced compared with its equivalent fossil-based lactic acid, making biobased lactic acid environmentally superior to the fossil-based lactic acid.
Part of the book: From Biomass to Biobased Products [Working title]