Young-Woong Suh

Bio-oil production from fast pyrolysis of waste furniture sawdust in a fluidized bed

The amount of waste furniture generated in Korea was over 2.4 million tons in the past 3 years, which can be used for renewable energy or fuel feedstock production. Fast pyrolysis is available for thermo-chemical conversion of the waste wood mostly into bio-oil. In this work, fast pyrolysis of waste furniture sawdust was investigated under various reaction conditions (pyrolysis temperature, particle size, feed rate and flow rate of fluidizing medium) in a fluidized-bed reactor. The optimal pyrolysis temperature for increased yields of bio-oil was 450 degrees C. Excessively smaller or larger feed size negatively affected the production of bio-oil. Higher flow and feeding rates were more effective for the production of bio-oil, but did not greatly affect the bio-oil yields within the tested ranges. The use of product gas as the fluidizing medium had a potential for increased bio-oil yields.

The characteristics of bio-oil produced from the pyrolysis of three marine macroalgae

The pyrolysis of two brown macroalgae (Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria japonica) and one red macroalgae (Porphyra tenera) was investigated for the production of bio-oil within the temperature range of 300-600°C. Macroalgae differ from lignocellulosic land biomass in their constitutional compounds and high N, S and ash contents. The maximum production of bio-oil was achieved at 500°C, with yields between 37.5 and 47.4 wt.%. The main compounds in bio-oils vary between macroalgae and are greatly different from those of land biomass, especially in the presence of many nitrogen-containing compounds. Of the gaseous products, CO(2) was dominant, while C(1)-C(4) hydrocarbons gradually increasing at 400°C and above. The pretreatment of macroalgae by acid washing effectively reduced the ash content. The pyrolysis of macroalgae offers a new opportunity for feedstock production; however, the utilization of bio-oil as a fuel product needs further assessment.

Cellulose pretreatment with 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride for solid acid-catalyzed hydrolysis

This study has been focused on developing a cellulose pretreatment process using 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim]Cl) for subsequent hydrolysis over Nafion(R) NR50. Thus, several pretreatment variables such as the pretreatment period and temperature, and the [bmim]Cl amount were varied. Additionally, the [bmim]Cl-treated cellulose samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, and their crystallinity index values including CI(XD), CI(XD-CI) and CI(XD-CII) were then calculated. When correlated with these values, the concentrations of total reducing sugars (TRS) obtained by the pretreatment of native cellulose (NC) and glucose produced by the hydrolysis reaction were found to show a distinct relationship with the [CI(NC)-CI(XD)] and CI(XD-CII) values, respectively. Consequently, the cellulose pretreatment step with [bmim]Cl is to loosen a crystalline cellulose through partial transformation of cellulose I to cellulose II and, furthermore, the TRS release, while the subsequent hydrolysis of [bmim]Cl-treated cellulose over Nafion(R) NR50 is effective to convert cellulose II to glucose.

Production of cellulosic ethanol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae heterologous expressing Clostridium thermocellum endoglucanase and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera β-glucosidase genes

Heterologous secretory expression of endoglucanase E (Clostridium thermocellum) and β-glucosidase 1 (Saccharomycopsis fibuligera) was achieved in Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation cultures as an α-mating factor signal peptide fusion, based on the native enzyme coding sequence. Ethanol production depends on simultaneous saccharification of cellulose to glucose and fermentation of glucose to ethanol by a recombinant yeast strain as a microbial biocatalyst. Recombinant yeast strain expressing endoglucanase and β-glucosidase was able to produce ethanol from β-glucan, CMC and acid swollen cellulose. This indicates that the resultant yeast strain of this study acts efficiently as a whole cell biocatalyst.

Production of minicellulosomes from Clostridium cellulovorans for the fermentation of cellulosic ethanol using engineered recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered for assembly of minicellulosomes by heterologous expression of a recombinant scaffolding protein from Clostridium cellulovorans and a chimeric endoglucanase E from Clostridium thermocellum. The chimeric endoglucanase E fused with the dockerin domain of endoglucanase B from C. cellulovorans was assembled with the recombinant scaffolding protein. The resulting strain was able to ferment amorphous cellulose [carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC)] into ethanol with the aid of beta-glucosidase 1 produced from Saccharomycopsis fibuligera. The minicellulosomes assembled in vivo retained the synergistic effect for cellulose hydrolysis. The minicellulosomes containing the cellulose-binding domain were purified by crystalline cellulose affinity in a single step. In the fermentation test at 10 g L(-1) initial CMC, approximately 3.45 g L(-1) ethanol was produced after 16 h. The yield (in grams of ethanol produced per substrate) was 0.34 g g(-1) from CMC. This result indicates that a one-step processing of cellulosic biomass in a consolidated bioprocessing configuration is technically feasible by recombinant yeast cells expressing functional minicellulosomes.

MnCo2O4 spinel supported ruthenium catalyst for air-oxidation of HMF to FDCA under aqueous phase and base-free conditions

A new class of MnCo2O4 spinel supported Ru catalyst, Ru/MnCo2O4, was exploited to afford the highest yield of FDCA (99.1%) from base-free air-oxidation of HMF in water. The catalyst Ru/MnCo2O4 having both Lewis and Bronsted acidic active sites greatly enhanced the FDCA yield. The catalyst was recyclable up to five successive runs without considerable loss of its original activity.

Striking confinement effect: AuCl4- binding to amines in a nanocage cavity

Binding of AuCl(4)(-) to amine groups tethered to the interior of a 2 nm siloxane nanocage was determined in solutions containing various concentrations of acid. The mode of binding was inferred from EXAFS and UV-vis spectra to be by ligand exchange of amine for chloride, which implies that the amines remain unprotonated. Cyclic voltammetry confirmed that the Au complexes bind to the nanocage interior and established a 1:1 relationship between bound Au complex and amine groups. The results suggested a 5-7 pH unit shift in the protonation constant of the interior amines relative to free amines in solution.

One-pot synthesis of campholenic aldehyde from α-pinene over Ti-HMS catalyst II: effects of reaction conditions

Ti-substituted HMS catalyst has been prepared and applied as a bifunctional catalyst to the two-step conversion of α-pinene via α-pinene oxide to campholenic aldehyde using TBHP as an oxidant. The reaction mainly proceeds by a radical mechanism, leading to the formation of allylic oxidation products like verbenol and verbenone. To suppress the formation of byproducts, other oxygen sources except for the oxidant are removed from the reaction system. In the presence of water, the hydrophilic character of Ti-HMS can induce the preferential accessibility of water, resulting in the increase of intraporous water concentration and its subsequent blocking of catalytic sites. Also, in the presence of oxygen, the propagation of radicals is promoted and this leads to the formation of other side-products. After removing water and molecular oxygen, it is possible to synthesize campholenic aldehyde in one-pot over Ti-HMS catalyst. Therefore, the removal of other oxygen sources that may lead to the allylic oxidation is essential for the one-pot conversion of α-pinene to campholenic aldehyde.

Redox-mesoporous molecular sieve as a bifunctional catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of campholenic aldehyde from α-pinene

Ti-HMS catalyst has been used as a bifunctional catalyst in the one-step conversion of α-pinene to campholenic aldehyde, i.e. with purification treatment, one-pot synthesis of campholenic aldehyde could be accomplished by using Ti-substituted mesoporous molecular sieves in which Lewis acid sites were present.

Synthesis of Thermally Stable Tetragonal Zirconia with Large Surface Area and Its Catalytic Activity in the Skeletal Isomerization of 1-Butene

Thermally stable zirconia with a large BET surface area was prepared by using zirconium atrane derivatives and commercial alkyltrimethylammonium bromide. The zirconia samples were characterized by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. The results showed that the present zirconia existed as a thermally stable tetragonal crystallite and consisted of mesoporous material with microporous contribution. The BET surface area was found larger than 240 m2/g even after calcination at 600 °C. The present zirconia after sulfation was applied to the skeletal isomerization of 1-butene, and its catalytic activity was found superior to that of the conventional sulfated zirconia.