Table Of ContentAdvances in Bioenergy and
fl
Micro uidic Applications
Edited by
Mohammad Reza Rahimpour
Reza Kamali
Mohammad Amin Makarem
Mohammad Karim Dehghan Manshadi
Elsevier
Radarweg29,POBox211,1000 AEAmsterdam,Netherlands
TheBoulevard,LangfordLane,Kidlington,OxfordOX51GB,UnitedKingdom
50HampshireStreet,5thFloor,Cambridge,MA 02139,UnitedStates
Copyright©2021 ElsevierInc.Allrights reserved.
Nopart ofthispublicationmaybereproduced ortransmittedinany formorbyany means,electronic or
mechanical,including photocopying,recording,or anyinformation storageandretrievalsystem, without
permissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Details onhowtoseek permission, furtherinformation aboutthe
Publisher’spermissions policies andourarrangements withorganizations suchastheCopyrightClearance
CenterandtheCopyrightLicensingAgency,canbefoundatourwebsite:www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Thisbookandtheindividual contributionscontainedinitareprotectedunder copyrightbythePublisher
(otherthanasmaybenotedherein).
Notices
Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging. Asnewresearch andexperience broaden
ourunderstanding, changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices,or medicaltreatment maybecome
necessary.
Practitionersandresearchers mustalwaysrelyontheirown experienceandknowledgeinevaluating and
usingany information,methods,compounds,orexperiments describedherein.In usingsuchinformation
ormethodstheyshouldbemindfuloftheirownsafety andthesafetyofothers,includingpartiesforwhom
theyhaveaprofessional responsibility.
Tothefullestextentofthelaw,neitherthePublishernortheauthors, contributors, oreditors,assume any
liabilityforany injuryand/ordamagetopersonsorproperty asamatterofproductsliability,negligenceor
otherwise,orfromany useoroperation ofany methods,products, instructions,or ideascontainedinthe
materialherein.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data
Acatalog recordforthisbookisavailablefrom theLibraryofCongress
BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-Publication Data
Acatalogue recordforthisbookis availablefromtheBritish Library
ISBN:978-0-12-821601-9
Forinformation onallElsevierpublications visitourwebsite
athttps://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
Publisher:SusanDennis
Acquisitions Editor:KostasKIMarinakis
EditorialProjectManager: AmyMoone
ProductionProjectManager: DebasishGhosh
CoverDesigner: GregHarris
TypesetbyTNQTechnologies
Contributors
Osama Abdelrehim Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Yaser Balegh Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars,
Iran
Parisa Biniaz Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars,
Iran
Giuseppina Anna Corrente Chemistry and Chemical Technologies Dpt.,
University of Calabria, Cubo 15/D, Via P. Bucci, Rende, CS, Italy
Francesco Dalena Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry and Catalysis, University of
Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Rende, CS, Italy
Morteza Esfandyari Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bojnord,
Bojnord, North Khorasan, Iran
Mohammad Farsi Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Niloufar Fouladi Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Mohammad Gholami Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ohio University,
Athens, OH, United States
Ali Hafizi Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Sareh Hamidpour DepartmentofChemical Engineering,Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Ahmad Hassanzadeh Department ofProcessing,Helmholtz-Institute Freibergfor
Resource Technology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Freiberg, Germany
xv
xvi Contributors
Hamid Reza Hosseini Mechanical Engineering Department, Shiraz University,
Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Reza Kamali Mechanical Engineering Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars,
Iran
Mohsen Karimi University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Danial Khojasteh Water Research Laboratory, School of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW, Australia
Hossein Khorshidian Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Calgary,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Mohammad Amin Makarem Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz
University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Mohammad K.D. Manshadi Mechanical Engineering Department, Shiraz
University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Mehdi Mohammadi Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Biological Science Department,
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi Department of Animal Science, Isfahan
University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada
Leila Karami Monfared Mechanical Engineering Department, Yazd University,
Yazd, Iran
Zohre Moravvej Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Mozhgan Naseh Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hamed Nikookar Mechanical Engineering Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Fabrizio Olivito Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University
of Calabria, Cubo 12C, Lab. LabOrSy, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy
Contributors xvii
Emilia Paone Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, dell'Energia, dell'Ambiente e dei
Materiali (DICEAM), Università degli Studi “Mediterranea” di Reggio Calabria, Reggio
Calabria, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale (DIEF), Università degli Studi di
Firenze, Firenze, Italy
Mehdi Piroozmand Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University,
Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Mohammad Reza Rahimpour Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz
University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Alírio E. Rodrigues University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Tayebe Roostaie Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Farideh Salimian MechanicalEngineeringDepartment,YazdUniversity,Yazd,Iran
Amir Sanati-Nezhad DepartmentofMechanicalandManufacturingEngineering,
Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Mohammad Amin Sedghamiz Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz
University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran
Alessandro Senatore Chemistry and Chemical Technologies Dpt., University of
Calabria, Cubo 15/D, Via P. Bucci, Rende, CS, Italy
Nazanin Abrishami Shirazi DepartmentofWaterEngineering,ShirazUniversity,
Shiraz, Fars, Iran
José A.C. Silva Institute of Polytechnic of Bragança (IPB), Bragança, Portugal
Ebrahim Soroush Department of Chemical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz,
Fars, Iran
Shahram Talebi Mechanical Engineering Department, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
Antonio Tursi Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of
Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy
xviii Contributors
Ali Behrad Vakylabad Department of Materials Science, International Center for
Science, High Technology & Environmental Sciences, Kerman Graduate University of
Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran
Federica Verteramo Chemistry and Chemical Technologies Dpt., University of
Calabria, Cubo 15/D, Via P. Bucci, Rende, CS, Italy
Gurkan Yesiloz Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1
Biomass conversion: general
information, chemistry, and
processes
Antonio Tursi1, Fabrizio Olivito2
1DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES, UNIVERSITY OF CALABRIA,
ARCAVACATA DI RENDE, COSENZA, ITALY; 2DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL
TECHNOLOGIES, UNIVERSITY OF CALABRIA, CUBO 12C, LAB. LABORSY, ARCAVACATA DI
RENDE, COSENZA, ITALY
1. Introduction
The exploitation of fossil fuels grew up incessantly and now renewable alternatives are
getting necessary. Many states allocated funds in search of sustainable alternatives to
finite resources [1]. Biomass was proved to be the key of this passage because it has
many applications in the field of bioenergy, biofuel, biomaterials, and so on [2,3].
Todaybiomassconversionisrelatedtoalowenvironmentalimpactbecauseitiswell
knownthedamagethatfossilfuelsconversioncausedinthepastyears[4].Thegrowing
concern diffused worldwide pushes the institutions of many states to draw up agree-
mentsandrestrictionsonenvironmentalpollutionandrenewableenergy.Biomassplays
a central role that is certified in many documents of different countries, such as the
“BiomassAction,”plannedbytheEuropeanCommissionandtheMulti-YearPlanbythe
USDepartmentofEnergy[5].Themainthemeofthefirstmanuscriptisthereductionof
CO emissionsinagreementwiththeKyotoprotocol[6]tofaceuptheproblemsrelated
2
to global warming. The second document discusses the policies about agriculture and
energy, with the focus on the conversion and valorization of renewable resources for
fuels, biodegradable plastics, and useful materials production, through research and
public interactions. The exploitationofbiomassforbioenergyproduction representsan
opportunityforagricultureandfarmers,foramoreproductiveandadvantageoususeof
land, that can produce improvement of farmers’ income, containment of the
countrysideecity migrations, and conservation of the environment and rural culture.
Climate change today is well recognized from all the countries, and it is no longer a
hypothesis but an existing reality; for this reason, the scientific community created the
InternationalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC),in1988,intendingtolimittheproduction
AdvancesinBioenergyandMicrofluidicApplications.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821601-9.00001-7 3
Copyright©2021ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
4 Advances in Bioenergy and Microfluidic Applications
of greenhouse gases [7]. These types of gases are today reduced because of the less
exploitationoffossilfuels.First-andsecond-generationbiofuels,heat,andelectricityare
today produced by common practices worldwide [8]. Tons of bioethanol is produced
annually from biomass resources, and the demand is still rising. Biomass is considered
renewable because, after consumption, feedstocks are available in a short time due to
the fast plants growing. In addition, atmospheric CO is absorbed from plants for
2
photosynthesis, in which CO and water in the presence of sunlight are converted to
2
carbohydratesandoxygen. Plants arethemainsourceofbiomass,andtheirproduction
does not affect the level of carbon dioxide in the environment, but in contrast they are
able to reduce it [9].
The only way to produce carbon dioxide from biomass is combustion, but this re-
mainsaclosed cyclebecause the produced CO is necessaryfor the plants growing and
2
consequently to accelerate the production of new biomass that is employed to start a
new cycle.These steps represent the CO cycle in the atmosphere (Fig. 1.1). The energy
2
produced this way is environmentally friendly and fully renewable.
Biomass is any materials derived directly or indirectly from photosynthesis. Today,
these definitions remain ambiguous because the term is wide and complicated due to
thedifferentplantspecies,cultivation,geographicalposition,harvestperiod,andsoon.
Forthesereasons,biomassisdefinedandclassifieddependingontheparticulartypeof
application or the relevant legislation. The term biomass brings together an extremely
wide and heterogeneous list of natural materials [10].
The most important sources of biomass (shown in Fig. 1.2) are agricultural, forestry
andanimalresidues,algaeandaquaticcrops,urbansolidwaste,andallwasteproduced
by human activities if they store an energy potential that can be exploited through
conversion processes [7]. In particular, agricultural waste represents the most advan-
tageous biomass category, as they contain a high quantity of convertible lignocellulosic
components [11].
Earthhasanenormousamountofbiomassavailable.Recentestimateshavepredicted
that the total exploitable biomass is around 5 billion tons, present both on land and in
submerged areas.
FIGURE1.1 Carboncycleinbiomass.
Chapter 1 (cid:1) Biomass conversion: general information, chemistry, and processes 5
FIGURE1.2 Themostimportantbiomasssources.
Estimatestranslate,fromtheenergypointofview,toapotentialproductioncapacity
of 33,000 exa-joules (EJ), which corresponds to almost 100 times the annual energy
consumption in the world [12].
However,theexploitedbiomassisequalto15%ofthetotalavailable,reachingaround
56millionTJ/year(tera-joulesperyear),correspondingto1.230Mtoe/year(milliontons
ofoilequivalentperyear).Furthermore,theuseofbiomasstoproducerenewableenergy
has a heterogeneous distribution on the planet. In particular, developed countries pro-
duce on average only 11% from biomass compared to the total energy produced, while
developing countries reach values of 50% of the total energy requirement [13].
The United States, for example,uses renewable resources, derived from biomass,for
only 3% ofthe country’s energy needs,corresponding to about 3million TJ/year (about
60 Mtoe/year).
Europegetsabout4%oftotalenergyfrombiomass(about50Mtoe/year),whilesome
Nordic countries far exceed the European average, reaching 20% [14,12].
According to the latest estimates (Eurobarometer of solid biomass 2018), recently
published by EurObserv’ER, in 2017 the European solid biomass sector produced 100
Mtoeofprimaryenergy,derivingfromforestandagriculturalwaste,andby-productsof
thepaperindustry.ItalyisthefourthEuropeanconsumerintermsofprimaryenergybut
does not have a virtuous production role. About 1.3 Mtep (million-ton equivalent of
petroleum), compared to 9 Mtep of primary energy from solid biomass consumed in
2017,comesfromimportedbiomass.Furthermore,lessthan50%(about1200TWh(tera-
watt per hour), compared to over 4000TWh of electricity generated with solid biomass,
6 Advances in Bioenergy and Microfluidic Applications
wereproducedincogenerationplants;therestwasproducedinplantswithoutrecovery,
thus wasting about 60% of the primary energy of the biomass as heat dissipated to the
atmosphere [13].
In Europe, the countries that use biomass for energy production are Germany (12.4
Mtoe),France(10.8Mtep),Sweden(9.3Mtep),Italy(9Mtep),andFinland(8.6Mtoe).All
the countries mentioned are self-sufficient, with the exception of Italy and Germany,
which imports 1.3 and 0.4 Mtep, respectively. Asfor the direct consumption ofbiomass
for domestic heating, Italy is in third place (6.9 Mtoe, or 76.6% of total consumption),
after Germany (9.24 Mtoe) and France (8.65 Mtoe).
The most virtuous countries in the use of solid biomass for the generation of elec-
tricity, or those where only cogeneration is used, are as follows: Sweden, Poland,
Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Luxembourg. England is instead the
first producer of electricity from biomass, but 100% of its production comes from the
combustion of biomass using old converted coal-fired plants [13].
Countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have enacted laws to eliminate
coal-fired electricity generation by 2030. In particular, Sweden has planned to achieve
carbon-neutrality for the entire nation by 2045, increasing the exploitation of forest
biomass for cogeneration [12].
In connection with all these things, the use of biomass for energy production is, at
present,themostdesirableformforprotectingtheenvironment,humanhealth,andthe
world economy; for this reason, using them efficiently and sustainably can significantly
reduce gas emissions and the greenhouse effect. In fact, the amount of carbon dioxide
that results from their transformation for energy production counterbalances that pre-
viouslyabsorbed.Despitetheseconsiderations,thepoliticalcommitmenttoexploitthis
renewable resource continues to be limited [15].
2. Chemical characterization of biomass
Biomass is a general definition that embraces different renewable resources naturally
available[16,17].Thesefeedstocks are generated from plants and as aconsequence can
be produced also from animals or humans in the form ofwastes. This organic matter is
the final product of the plant photosynthesis in which the obtained carbohydrates can
assemble themselves to build up the structure of the plant body [18]. The chemical
composition depends on many factors, for example not only the kind of plant but also
the harvest period and the geographical position. Regarding biomass derived from an-
imals manure, it is important for the species of animals due to their different digestion
enzymes. Naturally, the same is true for human wastes that are so diverse. The three
main components of lignocellulosic materials are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin,
andtheirpercentagecompositioncandifferduetothepreviouslyreportedreasons[19].
The percentage of these three constituents can be referred to as an average, where
cellulose is the main component with 40%e50% of the dry weight, hemicellulose the
