Rumi Narzari

Pyrolysis of Mesua ferrea and Pongamia glabra seed cover: Characterization of bio-oil and its sub-fractions

In the present study, pyrolysis of Mesua ferrea seed cover (MFSC) and Pongamia glabra seed cover (PGSC) was performed to investigate the characteristics of bio-oil and its sub fractions. In a fixed bed reactor, the effect of temperature (range of 350-650 °C) on product yield and quality of solid product were monitored. The maximum bio-oil yield of 28.5 wt.% and 29.6 wt.% for PGSC and MFSC respectively was obtained at 550 °C at heating rate of 40 °C/min. The chemical composition of bio-oil and its sub fractions were investigated using FTIR and (1)H NMR. GC-MS was performed for both PGSC and MFSC bio-oils and their corresponding n-hexane fractions. The results showed that bio-oil from the feedstocks and its sub-fractions might be a potential source of renewable fuel and value added chemicals.

Effect of torrefaction on yield and quality of pyrolytic products of arecanut husk: An agro-processing wastes

In the present study, arecanut husk, an agro-processing waste of areca plam industry highly prevalent in the north-eastern region of India, was investigated for its suitability as a prospective bioenergy feedstock for thermo-chemical conversion. Pretreatment of areca husk using torrefaction was performed in a fixed bed reactor with varying reaction temperature (200, 225, 250 and 275°C). The torrefied areca husk was subsequently pyrolyzed from temperature range of 300-600°C with heating rate of 40°C/min to obtain biooil and biochar. The torrefied areca husk, pyrolysis products were characterized by using different techniques. The energy and mass yield of torrefied biomass were found to be decreased with an increase in the torrefaction temperature. Further, biochar were found to be effective in removal of As (V) from aqueous solutions but efficiency of removal was better in case of torrefied biochar. Chemical composition of bio-oil is also influenced by torrefaction process.

Complete utilization of non-edible oil seeds of Cascabela thevetia through a cascade of approaches for biofuel and by-products

Lipid-rich biomass, generally opted for biodiesel production, produces a substantial amount of by-product (de-oiled cake and seed cover) during the process. Complete utilization of Cascabela thevetia seeds for biofuel production through both chemical and thermochemical conversion route is investigated in the present study. Various properties of biodiesel produced was characterized and compared with those obtained from similar oil seeds. The by-products of the chemical process were used as a feedstock for pyrolysis at different temperatures in a fixed bed reactor. Maximum bio-oil yields of 29.11% and 26.18% were observed at 500°C. The bio-oil obtained at optimum yield was characterized by CHN analyzer, NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The biochar produced was further characterized by SEM-EDX, XRD and FTIR along with elemental analysis to explore its utilization for various purposes. The present investigation depicts a new approach towards complete utilization of lipid-rich bio-resources to different types of biofuels and biochar.

Fabrication of biochars obtained from valorization of biowaste and evaluation of its physicochemical properties

This study investigated the yields and the physicochemical properties of biochar from three different feedstocks viz., i) bioenergy byproducts (deoiled cakes of Jatropha carcus and Pongamia glabra), ii) lignocellulose biomass (Jatropha carcus seed cover), and iii) a noxious weed (Parthenium hysterophorus), obtained through slow pyrolysis at a heating rate of 40°Cmin-1 with a nitrogen flow 100mlmin-1 at a temperature range of 350-650°C. For successful utilization of biochar for C-sequestration, its ability to resist abiotic or biotic degradation was deduced from recalcitrance index R50 by using TG analysis. It was observed that the biochar produced at higher temperature had higher water holding capacity (WHC) and pH, suggesting its suitability as an amendment in soil with low water retention capacity; thus biochar may be designed to selectively improve soil chemical and physical properties by altering feedstocks and pyrolysis conditions. Biochar produced at 650°C had highest yield in the range of 28.52-39.9 wt.%.

Waste Valorization to Fuel and Chemicals Through Pyrolysis: Technology, Feedstock, Products, and Economic Analysis

The decreasing fossil fuel reserves, rise in oil prices, and increasing awareness of environmental impact of continued fossil fuel use have made the quest for alternative energy sources significant throughout the world. In this regard, conversion of various types of wastes to biofuels and biomaterials offers a new paradigm of research in the changing world faced with these diverse problems. Lignocellulosic biomasses are the most predominant among different types of waste resources and are characterized by diverse nature and abundant supply. However, it also has numerous competitive uses which shrink the biomass resource base for energy production. There are numerous biomass materials which are produced as by-products, residues, or wastes from other processes, operations, or industries. The energy content of these materials can be usefully exploited and have the advantage of removing these materials from the landfill. This chapter presents an overview of the pyrolytic conversion of low-value biomass/bio-wastes, agricultural residues, bioenergy by-product, industrial agro-wastes, aquatic wastes, MSW, plastic solid wastes to bio-oil and biochar and their wide-ranging applications. Further, this chapter also reviews the pyrolysis technology and its economic analysis.

An Assessment on Indian Government Initiatives and Policies for the Promotion of Biofuels Implementation, and Commercialization Through Private Investments

Energy has emerged as one of the most critical issues governing the economic, political, environmental, and social development of countries directly or indirectly. Availability of clean, efficient, affordable, and reliable energy is at the center of global prosperity and sustainable development. For developing counties like India, expanded access to dependable and modern energy service is a must for their fight against poverty and low living conditions of their citizens, while meeting objectives like increasing productivity, growing competitiveness, and improving economic growth at the same time.

Biohydrogen Production Scenario for Asian Countries

Despite continuous advancement in energy technologies, the greenhouse gas and pollutant emission due to combustion of fossil fuel is increasing day by day due to its growing demand. With the growing worldwide concern regarding increasing global climate change and depleting energy source, it has become the necessity of the hour to generate fuel with safer, efficient, economic, and reasonably environmental-friendly technology. To address this issue, a variety of efficient end-use technologies and alternative fuels have been proposed; this includes compressed natural gas; reformulated gasoline or diesel; methanol; ethanol; synthetic liquids from natural gas, biomass, or coal; and hydrogen. In this regard hydrogen has emerged as a promising option since it offers to solve various important societal impacts of fuel use at the same time. Hydrogen (H2) produced through wastewater treatment using biological routes (dark and photo-fermentation) can be considered as a renewable and sustainable resource. Negative-valued wastewater contains high levels of biodegradable organic material with net positive energy and minimizes the economics of H2 production and treatment cost. This chapter mainly focuses on the global biohydrogen research trend specifically in Asian countries. Bibliometric and scientometric analysis performed with ISI Web of Knowledge [Thomson Reuters] documented significant increments in publications wherein India stands top in biohydrogen production using wastewater. Current status and road map showed that China followed by other Asian countries have significantly contributed towards H2 production. Future perspective suggests for integrative H2 production strategies such as microbial electrolysis, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production, bioaugmentation, and metabolic engineering to overcome some of the limitations for process scale-up.

Biomass Resources for Biofuel Production in Northeast India

India’s overwhelming economic growth rate of 8 % on an average creates a huge demand for energy inputs. The swelling energy consumption has resulted in growing dependence on fossil fuels, which has in turn raised a gamut of concerns like energy security, environmental degradation, and pressure on national exchequer. Energy conservation and clean and C-neutral fuels in this regard offer the greatest opportunities. Biomass-based renewable energy has the proven potential in this direction. Since India has an agricultural-based economy, therefore, biomass– including wood, agricultural residues, animal dung, etc. – is available in enormous quantities. In India, about 40 % of the total energy requirement comes from burning of biomass, and more than 70 % of the population depends on it for energy requirements. The northeast region of India where traditional biomass is a predominant source of energy is no exception to this. However, burning of biomass has been associated with energy inefficiency and environmental hazards including health problems and deforestation. Therefore, a sustainable approach toward this end is adoption of custom-made technological intervention to use the enormous biomass resource and generate power in an environment-friendly and cost-effective scheme. Biomass-based energy and power production can provide distributed power for rural applications and could effectively make up for the absence of grid electricity supply in many remote areas. Besides, tail-end grid-connected power projects are also currently highly encouraged to support the Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation and its compliance under the Electricity Act, 2003. This chapter reviews the biomass availability, conversion technologies, and its biofuel production potential in the northeastern region of India which is known for its high biological biodiversity with numerous tropical rainforests, revering grasslands, bamboo, orchards and wetland ecosystems.