Quanguo Zhang

Application of rod-shaped cellulose nanocrystals in polyacrylamide hydrogels

Rod-shaped cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were manufactured and used to reinforce polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels through in situ free-radical polymerization. The gelation process of the nanocomposite hydrogels was monitored on a rheometer using oscillatory shear. The chemical structure, morphology, swelling property, and compression strength of the formed gels were investigated. A possible mechanism for forming hydrogels was proposed. The results showed that CNCs accelerated the formation of hydrogels and increased the effective crosslink density of hydrogels. Thus CNCs were not only a reinforcing agent for hydrogel, but also acted as a multifunctional cross-linker for gelation. The shear storage modulus, compression strength and elastic modulus of the nanocomposite hydrogels were significantly improved because of good dispersion of CNCs in PAM as well as enhanced interfacial interaction between these two components. Among the CNC contents used, a loading of 6.7 w/w% led to the maximum mechanical properties for nanocomposite hydrogels.

Characterization of cellulose I/II hybrid fibers isolated from energycane bagasse during the delignification process: Morphology, crystallinity and percentage estimation.

Cellulose I, cellulose II and cellulose I/II hybrid fibers were prepared from energycane bagasse using NaOH and NaClO2 treatments. The definitive defibrillation effect with an average width of 12±5μm was observed for the fibers treated with 20wt% NaOH for 10h and NaClO2 for 2h. The ribbon shaped cellulose I fibers were converted to a swollen state with a rougher surface by 20wt% NaOH treatment for 10h. The percentage of cellulose I decreased from 100% to 5%, and the corresponding CI values increased from 58.2% to 68.8% during the conversion from cellulose I to II. After further NaClO2 treatment, the CI values were decreased because of partial destruction of hydrogen bond network. XRD, NMR and FTIR results present the same trend in the degree of crystallization for all the samples.

Porous Carbon Nanofibers from Electrospun Biomass Tar/Polyacrylonitrile/Silver Hybrids as Antimicrobial Materials

A novel route to fabricate low-cost porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) using biomass tar, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and silver nanoparticles has been demonstrated through electrospinning and subsequent stabilization and carbonization processes. The continuous electrospun nanofibers had average diameters ranging from 392 to 903 nm. The addition of biomass tar resulted in increased fiber diameters, reduced thermal stabilities, and slowed cyclization reactions of PAN in the as-spun nanofibers. After stabilization and carbonization, the resultant CNFs showed more uniformly sized and reduced average diameters (226-507 nm) compared to as-spun nanofibers. The CNFs exhibited high specific surface area (>400 m(2)/g) and microporosity, attributed to the combined effects of phase separations of the tar and PAN and thermal decompositions of tar components. These pore characteristics increased the exposures and contacts of silver nanoparticles to the bacteria including Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli, leading to excellent antimicrobial performances of as-spun nanofibers and CNFs. A new strategy is thus provided for utilizing biomass tar as a low-cost precursor to prepare functional CNFs and reduce environmental pollutions associated with direct disposal of tar as an industrial waste.

Sludge treatment: Current research trends

Sludge is produced during wastewater treatment as a residue containing most insoluble and adsorbed soluble impurities in wastewaters. This paper summarized the currently available review papers on sludge treatments and proposed the research trends based on the points raised therein. On partition aspect, sludge production rate and the reduction of production rate and the fate and transformation of involved emergent contaminants including endocrine disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals and personal care products are widely studied. On release aspect, development of thermal processes on sludge with migration and transformation of heavy metals in sludge during treatment is a research focus. The use of detailed fluid and biological reaction models and advanced instrumentation and control systems is studied to optimize treatment performances. On recovery part, co-digestion of sludge with co-substrates at mesophilic and hyperthermophilic conditions and the recovery of phosphorus at low costs are research highlights.

Structure and thermal properties of tar from gasification of agricultural crop residue

This study was carried out to elucidate chemical composition and thermal decomposition behavior of bio-tar from the gasification of agricultural crop residue, facilitating its further processing and utilization. Structural characterization by gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC–MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis indicated that the bio-tar was mainly composed of phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It contained more oxygenated and less aromatic compounds compared with fossil pitches. Thermogravimetric measurements demonstrated that the tar decomposed rapidly within the temperature range of 183–252xa0°C under nitrogen atmosphere. The apparent activation energy values obtained from the Friedman method and distributed activation energy model showed the same trend. The activation energy values from both methods nearly unchanged within the conversion rate of 0.1–0.6, with average values of 107 and 85xa0kJxa0mol−1, respectively. The activation energy increased quickly when the conversion rate was larger than 0.6. The change of reaction mechanism from parallel single reactions or uniform multiple reactions at lower conversion rates to multiple-step reactions at higher conversion rates indicated the complex nature of the bio-tar. The developed chemical and thermal degradation data of the tar can facilitate the design and manufacture of tar-containing polymeric composites.

Effects of mass transfer and light intensity on substrate biological degradation by immobilized photosynthetic bacteria within an annular fiber-illuminating biofilm reactor.

In this work, effects of mass transfer and light intensity on performance of substrate biodegradation by cell-immobilized photosynthetic bacteria were investigated within an annular fiber-illuminating bioreactor (AFIBR). In AFIBR, stable biofilm of photosynthetic bacteria was generated on the surface of side-glowing optical fiber to provide sufficient light supply and uniform light distribution in cell-immobilized zone for continuous substrate biodegradation during hydrogen production process. To optimize operation parameters for substrate degradation, a two-dimensional mass transfer model based on experimental data to describe coupled processes of substrate transfer and biodegradation in biofilm with substrate diffusion and convection in bulk flow region was proposed. Investigations on influences of substrate concentration, flow rate and light intensity were carried out. It was showed that the optimum operational parameters for the substrate degradation in the AFIBR are: 10g/l substrate concentration, 100ml/h flow rate and 3.1W/m(2) light intensity.

Kraft lignin biorefinery: A perspective

Lignin is a huge energy and carbon reserve but owing to its highly biologically recalcitrant nature it is commonly regarded as a waste in lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery. To realize the lignin biorefinery, it is proposed to use Kraft lignin, isolated from black liquor from Kraft pulping mills, as starting material to be fragmented by fast pyrolysis or selective catalysis to aromatic sub-units and to be post-refining with additional cleavage reaction and separation/purification as commodity aromatics pool in chemical industries. This Note calls for research efforts on detailed investigation of the feasibility of this proposed scenario.

Photo-fermentative hydrogen production in a 4 m3 baffled reactor: Effects of hydraulic retention time

A 4m3 pilot-scale baffled continuous-flow photoreactor with four sequential chambers (#1-#4) was established and tested to evaluate its photo-fermentative hydrogen production from wastewater that contains (10g/L glucose using a functional consortium at 30°C, under light with an intensity of 3000±200lux with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24-72h. The hydrogen production rate and the broth characteristics varied significantly in the flow direction. The hydrogen production rate was highest in chamber #1, and lower in chambers #2-#4 at an HRT of 72h, while the peak production rate shifted to the latter chambers as the HRT was shortened. The overall H2 production rate increased as HRT decreased, but was not consistent with the predictions that were based on the complete-mixing assumption.

Comparison of bio-hydrogen production yield capacity between asynchronous and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation processes from agricultural residue by mixed anaerobic cultures

Taken common agricultural residues as substrate, dark fermentation bio-hydrogen yield capacity from asynchronous saccharification and fermentation (ASF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was investigated. The highest hydrogen yield of 472.75mL was achieved with corncob using ASF. Hydrogen yield from corn straw, rice straw, corncob and sorghum stalk by SSF were 20.54%,10.31%,13.99% and 5.92% higher than ASF, respectively. The experimental data fitted well to the modified Gompertz model. SSF offered a distinct advantage over ASF with respect to reducing overall process time (60h of SSF, 108h of ASF). Meanwhile, SSF performed better than SSF with respect to shortening the lag-stage. The major metabolites of anaerobic fermentation hydrogen production by ASF and SSF were butyric acid and acetic acid.

Effect of substrate concentration on hydrogen production by photo-fermentation in the pilot-scale baffled bioreactor.

Effect of substrate concentration on photo-fermentative hydrogen production was studied with a self-designed 4m3 pilot-scale baffled photo-fermentative hydrogen production reactor (BPHR). The relationships between parameters, such as hydrogen production rate (HPR, mol H2/m3/d), hydrogen concentration, pH value, oxidation-reduction potential, biomass concentration (volatile suspended solids, VSS) and reducing sugar concentration, during the photo-fermentative hydrogen production process were investigated. The highest HPR of 202.64±8.83mol/m3/d was achieved in chamber #3 at a substrate concentration of 20g/L. Hydrogen contents were in the range of 42.19±0.94%-49.71±0.27%. HPR increased when organic loading rate was increased from 3.3 to 20g/L/d, then decreased when organic loading rate was further increased to 25g/L/d. A maximum HPR of 148.65±4.19mol/m3/d was obtained when organic loading rate was maintained at 20g/L/d during continuous bio-hydrogen production.