Research Articles

This study presents a report on pyrolysis of Napier grass stem in a fixed bed reactor. The effects of nitrogen flow (20 to 60 mL/min), and reaction temperature (450 to 650 °C) were investigated. Increasing the nitrogen flow from 20 to 30 mL/min increased the bio-oil yield and decreased both bio-char and non-condensable gas. 30 mL/min nitrogen flow resulted in optimum bio-oil yield and was used in the subsequent experiments. Reaction temperatures between 450 and 600 °C increased the bio-oil yield, with maximum yield of 32.26 wt% at 600 oC and a decrease in the corresponding bio-char and non-condensable gas. At 650 °C, reductions in the bio-oil and bio-char yields were recorded while the non-condensable gas increased. Water content of the bio-oil decreased with increasing reaction temperature, while density and viscosity increased. The observed pH and higher heating values were between 2.43 to 2.97, and 25.25 to 28.88 MJ/kg, respectively. GC-MS analysis revealed that the oil was made up of highly oxygenated compounds and requires upgrading. The bio-char and non-condensable gas were characterized, and the effect of reaction temperature on the properties was evaluated. Napier grass represents a good source of renewable energy when all pyrolysis products are efficiently utilized.

A novel carboxymethyl cellulose/ hydroxyethyl cellulose-Al3+ (CMC/HEC-Al3+) hydrogel was prepared through electrostatic complexing between the anionic polyelectrolyte CMC and cationic cross-linking agent Al3+. The structure and properties of the hydrogel were characterized using FTIR, TGA, and SEM. The viscoelasticities of the swollen hydrogel were measured using the rheology test. The results indicated that a porous network structure was formed in the hydrogel. The content of CMC, HEC, and Al3+ can significantly affect its structure and characteristics. A sponge and membrane were prepared from the CMC/HEC-Al3+ hydrogel by freeze-drying and oven drying, respectively. Their swelling behaviors were investigated in water and saline solutions, and quantified with a swelling kinetic simulation. The results indicated that electrostatic effects, physical entanglement, and intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds contributed to the cross-linking network structure, with the electrostatic effect acting as the dominant force. In all, both superabsorbent sponge and membrane prepared from CMC/HEC-Al3+ hydrogel showed excellent swelling behavior and could be used in dressing wounds.

There are various methods for nondestructive imaging of the internal structure of wood. A microwave nondestructive method based on the dielectric properties of a medium is an area of great interest for predicting wood strength in the worldwide wood industry, but the reliable prediction of strength in wood still has not been solved in a satisfying manner. Hence, answering the question of how dielectric properties of the wood are related to strength may improve the efficiency of models for predicting structural performance of wood by microwaves. Relationships were evaluated in this work between dielectric parameters (dielectric constant, loss factor, and loss tangent) and the strength properties of wood. Samples were prepared from fir and oak wood. Dielectric measurement was performed at a frequency of 9.8 GHz using Von Hippel’s Transmission Line Method. Wood density and some mechanical properties were then determined according to related ISO standards. The results showed that there were good relationships between the dielectric parameters and the MOR, MOE, IBS, and CS, especially for oak wood. The dielectric parameters were promising to predict wood strength with a high accuracy for oak but not fir, and the dielectric constant had a higher precision degree than the loss tangent and loss factor.

The surface quality of thermally modified birch wood was examined after plane milling. The surface quality was assessed based on the arithmetic mean deviation of the assessed profile Ra. Plane milling was carried out at various cutting speeds of 20, 40, and 60 m/s and feed speeds 4, 8, and 11 m/min. Based on the results, it was concluded that thermal treatment reduced the surface roughness of milled birch wood, but the decrease was not statistically significant. The cutting speed and feed had the greatest impact on all monitored factors. Increases in cutting speed reduced the average roughness, while increases in feed speed had the opposite effect. The highest roughness was achieved after plane milling with a feed speed of 11 m/min.

Despite the abundance of diverse biomass resources in Africa, they have received little research and development focus. This study presents compositional analysis, sugar, and ethanol yields of hydrothermal pretreated (195 °C, 10 min) biomass from West Africa, including bamboo wood, rubber wood, elephant grass, Siam weed, and coconut husk, benchmarked against those of wheat straw. The elephant grass exhibited the highest glucose and ethanol yields at 57.8% and 65.1% of the theoretical maximums, respectively. The results show that the glucose yield of pretreated elephant grass was 3.5 times that of the untreated material, while the ethanol yield was nearly 2 times higher. Moreover, the sugar released by the elephant grass (30.8 g/100 g TS) was only slightly lower than by the wheat straw (33.1 g/100 g TS), while the ethanol yield (16.1 g/100 g TS) was higher than that of the straw (15.26 g/100 g TS). All other local biomass types studied exhibited sugar and ethanol yields below 33% and 35% of the theoretical maximum, respectively. Thus, elephant grass is a highly promising biomass source for ethanol production in Africa.

The effect of using acid pretreated eucalyptus wood chips in the Lo-Solids® pulping process was evaluated in the laboratory. Lo-Solids® cooking technology was chosen to evaluate the impact of acid pretreatments on the cooking performance, brown stock chemical composition, and black liquor heating value. The acid leaching stage reduced the contents of transition metals and other non-process elements in the wood chips and in the pulps produced. Benefits were detected in terms of the reduction in white liquor charge, increase in pulp yield, as well as pulp viscosity and black liquor heating value. Carbohydrate content and other wood/pulp constituents were not affected by the acid leaching pretreatments.

To avoid undesired polymerization and maximize the selectivity of alkyl levulinate from the acid-catalyzed conversion of biomass-derived furfuryl alcohol, the effects of catalyst and reaction parameters on the formations of humin and alkyl levulinate were investigated. The results show that Amberlyst 15, of moderate acidic strength, was more favorable for the selective conversion of furfuryl alcohol to alkyl levulinate, and heteropolyacids of strong acidic strength tended to promote furfuryl alcohol polymerization. Compared with water as a reaction medium, alcohol significantly lowered humin formation and enhanced the yield of the resulting products. The formations of humin and alkyl levulinate were both favored at high catalyst loadings and reaction temperatures. An augmentation in initial furfuryl alcohol concentration caused an increase in humin formation and a decrease in alkyl levulinate yield. A high alkyl levulinate yield of up to 94% (100% furfuryl alcohol conversion) was achieved at 110 °C for 4 h with 5 g/L Amberlyst 15 catalyst and an initial furfuryl alcohol concentration of 0.1 mol/L. At this point, about 5% furfuryl alcohol was polymerized to form the humin, and its polymerization occurred mainly during the initial reaction stage.

A pellet mill is currently the most frequently used method for producing pellets using either a ring die or a flat die. In the densification process, a great amount of energy is required to avoid spring-back and to overcome the friction between the material and the channel surface of the die. However, extra energy is unnecessarily consumed because of friction between the roller and densified material and the pressure between the roller and die, where there are no opening channels. The aim of this work was to attempt to eliminate a portion of the frictional and compaction energy consumption based on an improved method of densification using a ring die. An upgraded pellet mill was designed and manufactured with rams on its roller. When the die and the roller rotate in a fixed transmission ratio, the rams precisely press raw material into opening channels on the die. Experimental tests on its feasibility were carried out. The results showed that the pellet mill, with this improvement, worked without wear on the surface of either the ring die or the roller; furthermore, the density and mechanical durability of pellets were the same as those produced using the traditional method.

In the present study, three ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl), 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium ([AMIM]Cl), and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride dimethyphosphate ([EMIM]DMP), were used to eliminate the brittleness of recycled fibers. The results showed that the pretreatments with ionic liquids were able to modify and improve the properties of recycled fibers even at high moisture contents. [EMIM]DMP gave better performance compared to [BMIM]Cl and [AMIM]Cl, which can tolerate higher moisture contents. The optimal conditions of EMIM]DMP pretreatment were moisture content of 65%, [EMIM]DMP dosage of 20 wt-%, 80 °C, and 60 min, for which a higher brittleness removal was obtained. The tensile index, bursting index, and tearing index of handsheets were increased by 32.4%, 57.0%, and 46.5%, respectively. Fiber quality was improved as demonstrated by fiber length, lowered fines content, and increased swellability. Such results imply that ionic liquids pretreatment can promote the swelling of recycled fibers and remove their brittleness.

Deinked pulp was pretreated using the 4-acetamido-2,2,6,6,- tetramethyl-pipelidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)/NaBr/NaClO system and then bleached using hydrogen peroxide to achieve a medium pulp consistency. The effect of the amount of oxidant NaClO addition on the peroxide bleaching of deinked pulp was studied. The treated pulp was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characterization of XRD and SEM showed that the treated pulp had a higher degree of crystallinity and more fibrillation than untreated pulp. Fiber quality analysis also revealed that the treated pulps had more fines and shorter fiber length than the untreated pulp. A handsheet test showed that the deinked pulps pretreated with the TEMPO system exhibited high tensile index values. The tensile index of the TEMPO pretreated pulp was 17% higher than that of the pulp bleached by hydrogen peroxide alone.