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Karuppusamy, M., Kalidas, S., Palanisamy, S., Nataraj , K., Nandagopal, R. K., Natarajan, R., Samraj, A., Ayrilmis, N., Sahu, S. K., Giri, J., and Kanan, M. (2025). "Real-time monitoring in polymer composites: Internet of things integration for enhanced performance and sustainability — A Review," BioResources 20(3), Page numbers to be added.Kheyri, R., Ghassemzadeh, H. R., Abdi, R., and Sohrabi, N. (2025). "A comparison between using woody biomass as a heat source or as feedstock for activated carbon production," BioResources 20(3), 6054–6068.

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Researchpp 4567-4593Jones, B. W., Venditti, R., Park, S., and Jameel, H. (2017). "Optimization of pilot scale mechanical disk refining for improvements in enzymatic digestibility of pretreated hardwood lignocellulosics," BioRes. 12(3), 4567-4593.Abstract Article PDF
Mechanical refining has potential application for overcoming lignocellulosic biomass recalcitrance to enzyme hydrolysis and improving biomass digestibility. This study highlighted the ability for a pilot scale disc refiner to improve the total carbohydrate conversion to sugars from 39% (unrefined hardwood sodium carbonate biomass) to 90% (0.13 mm gap, 20% consistency, ambient temperature) by optimizing the refining variables. The different biomass properties that changed with refining indicated the expected increase in sugar conversion. Controlling the refining parameters to narrower gaps and higher consistencies increased the resulting refined biomass hydrolysis. Positive correlations that increases in net specific energy (NSE) input and refining intensity (SEL) improved the enzymatic hydrolysis. In some severe cases, over-refining occurred when smaller gaps, higher consistencies, and more energy input reached a point of diminished return. The energy input in these scenarios, however, was much greater than realistically feasible for industrial application. Although well-established in the pulp and paper industry, gaps in understanding the fundamentals of refining remain. The observations and results herein provide the justification and opportunity for further mechanical refining optimization to maximize and adapt the mechanical refining technology for maximum efficiency within the process of biochemical conversion to sugar.
Researchpp 4594-4605Ahmad Yahaya, A. N., Hossain, M. S., and Edyvean, R. (2017). "Analysis of phenolic compounds in empty fruit bunches in oyster mushroom cultivation and in vermicompositing," BioRes. 12(3), 4594-4605.Abstract Article PDF
Analyses of total phenolic compounds were carried out for oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs) vermicomposting in oyster mushrooms cultivation. The oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sajor-caju) were cultivated according to the large-scale vermicomposting trial (LSVT) methods. Both oyster mushrooms cultivation and vermicomposting of EFB with earthworms enhanced the lignin degradation of EFB. Analysis of total phenolic compounds EFB vermicomposting treated with earthworms showed a decrease in total phenolics concentration from 31.1 GAE/100g extract (raw EFB) to 5.66 g GAE/100g extract (after oyster mushroom cultivation) and to less than 1.5 g GAE/100g extract at the end of vermicomposting. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the mushroom fruiting body, spent mushrooms, and vermicompost showed no trace of phenolphenol, pyrocatechol, 4-hydrobenzoic acid, or antioxidant and flavonoid phenolics, e.g., phenol, 3,4-dimethoxy-, vanillic acid, and cinnamic acid. This indicates that the mushroom fruiting body is fit for human consumption and the final vermicompost is a useful agricultural product without the detrimental effects of spreading phenolics-loaded EFBs on the land.
Researchpp 4606-4626Myronycheva, O., Bandura, I., Bisko, N., Gryganskyi, A. P., and Karlsson, O. (2017). "Assessment of the growth and fruiting of 19 oyster mushroom strains for indoor cultivation on lignocellulosic wastes," BioRes. 12(3), 4606-4626.Abstract Article PDF
Twelve Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P. Kumm and six Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél. strains were characterized from the National Culture Collection of Mushrooms, Institute of Botany Kholodny, National Academy of Science, Kyiv, Ukraine (IBK). The strains were grown under commercial conditions on a mixture of wheat straw and sunflower shells under both winter and summer temperatures typical for those climatic conditions. The strains were divided into three groups according to their growing patterns. Important characteristics were compared with a commercial analogue, HK-35, such as vegetative growth, generative growth, and biological efficiency (1.9- to 3.1-fold), and were recorded for strains 2251, 2292, 2316, 2319, and 2320 of P. ostreatus and 2314 of P. pulmonarius. Strains 2251, 2292, 2301, 2321 and 2323 were the most suitable for commercial production, while strains 2319 and 2320 could satisfy processing industry requirements with their high biological efficiency. Strains 2287 and 2317 produced high-quality fruit bodies but probably required a higher temperature for cultivation. Strain 2318 might be attractive for some consumers due to its unique and unusual fruit body shape. Strain 2314 was the most promising for summer cultivation, while strain 537 produced the highest quality fruit bodies.
Researchpp 4627-4638Wang, M., Zhang, Y., Yan, S., Yi, B., Niu, W., and Yuan, Q. (2017). "Enhanced biogas yield of Chinese herbal medicine extraction residue by hydrothermal pretreatment," BioRes. 12(3), 4627-4638.Abstract Article PDF
Chinese herbal medicine extraction residue (CHER) is a special organic waste produced in China. Because of the high content of lignocelluloses, CHER have a weak bioconversion efficiency for bio-products production. This study investigates the effect of a hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP, 140 to 220 °C, 15 min) on the organic matter solubilisation, biochemical methane potential, and methanation kinetics of CHER during anaerobic digestion (AD). The AD test was conducted with 5 g/L total solid at 35 °C for 30 d. The results showed that the HTP clearly improved the solubilisation of CHER, and the obtained soluble COD (%) reached over 30% (only 4.5% in untreated). Acetic acid, xylose, and glucose were found to be the main products in the hydrolysate. The methane yield and methanation speed of the treated CHER were also enhanced. The highest methane yield of 306 mL/g volatile solid was achieved at a HTP temperature of 180 °C, while the untreated control was only 175 mL/g VS. Moreover, a carbonisation phenomenon was observed at HTP temperatures over 200 °C, which resulted in a loss of organic matter and methane yield.
Researchpp 4639-4651Shao, L., You, T., Wang, C., Yang, G., Xu, F., and Lucia, L. A. (2017). "Catalytic stepwise pyrolysis of technical lignin," BioRes. 12(3), 4639-4651.Abstract Article PDF
The stepwise pyrolysis of technical lignin with and without a catalyst was investigated by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Lignin was first pyrolyzed at 260 or 360 °C, and then the residue was subsequently pyrolyzed at 650 °C. It was found that stepwise pyrolysis of lignin concentrated the phenolic compounds in lignin-derived bio-oil. In a stepwise 260 to 650 °C process, the maximum total phenolic compounds were 86.2%. Among the phenolic compounds, guaiacol-type and phenol-type phenolic compounds were predominant. Further addition of a catalyst (HZSM-5) in the stepwise pyrolysis process enhanced control over the product distribution through conversion of phenolic compounds into aromatic hydrocarbon products. The aromatic hydrocarbons achieved the highest yield of 30.4% in the catalytic stepwise 260 to 650 °C process.
Researchpp 4652-4669Zhang, Y., Ma, Z., Zhang, Q., Wang, J., Ma, Q., Yang, Y., Luo, X., and Zhang, W. (2017). "Comparison of the physicochemical characteristics of bio-char pyrolyzed from moso bamboo and rice husk with different pyrolysis temperatures," BioRes. 12(3), 4652-4669.Abstract Article PDF
Bio-char pyrolyzed from biomass waste has been notably applied in various industries due to its versatile physicochemical characteristics. This paper investigated the difference of the properties of the bio-char derived from moso bamboo and rice husk under different pyrolysis temperatures (200 °C to 800 °C). As the temperature increased, the bio-char yield for both bamboo bio-char (BC) and rice husk bio-char (RHC) decreased, while the carbon element content and fixed carbon, the value of higher heating value (HHV) and pH increased for both BC and RHC. At 800 °C, BC had a higher HHV of 32.78 MJ/kg than RHC of 19.22 MJ/kg, while RHC had a higher yield of char (42.99 wt.%) than BC (26.3 wt.%) because of the higher ash content (47.51 wt.%) in RHC. SiO2 was the dominant component in the ash of RHC, accounting for 86.26 wt.%. The surface area (SBET) of RHC (331.23 m2/g) was higher than BC (259.89 m2/g). However, the graphitization degree of BC was higher than RHC at the same temperature. The systematic study on the evolution of the basic properties of BC and RHC will provide a good reference for their high value-added application.
Researchpp 4670-4689Meekum, U., and Kingchang, P. (2017). "Compounding oil palm empty fruit bunch/cotton fiber hybrid reinforced poly(lactic acid) biocomposites aiming for high-temperature packaging applications," BioRes. 12(3), 4670-4689.Abstract Article PDF
The manufacture of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites reinforced with both oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and cotton fiber was investigated. The positive and significant effect of EFB on the heat distortion temperature (HDT) and flexural properties was determined by a 2k design of experiment study. Adding solid epoxy into the PLA matrix manifested inferior mechanical properties with no improvement to the HDT. The HDT and mechanical properties of the biocomposites were further improved by using an EFB/cotton hybridized system. The PLA/hybridized EFB/cotton biocomposites showed biodegradability and an HDT higher than 100 °C. However, the flowability of the material was retarded at high cotton fractions. Finally, adding talc filler into the biocomposites improved the flowability of the hybridized biocomposite systems, especially at low fiber and high talc contents. Nevertheless, inferior mechanical properties of the biocomposites were found for high talc and low fibers’ contents.
Researchpp 4690-4706Xie, L., He, G., Wang, X., Gustafsson, P. J., Crocetti, R., Chen, L., Li, L., and Xie, W. (2017). "Shear capacity of stud-groove connector in glulam-concrete composite structure," BioRes. 12(3), 4690-4706.Abstract Article PDF
A timber-concrete composite structure (TCC) is economically and environmentally friendly. One of the key design points of this kind of structure is to ensure the reliability of the shear connectors. The objective of this paper is to study the mechanical property of stud-groove-type connectors and to provide shear capacity equations for stud-groove connectors in timber-concrete composite structures. Based on the Johansen Yield Theory (European Yield Model), some mechanical models and capacity equations for stud-groove-type connectors in timber-concrete structures were studied. Push-out specimens with different parameters (stud diameter, stud length, groove width, and groove depth) were tested to obtain the shear capacity and slip modulus. The experimental strengths were used to validate equations given in the paper. The shear capacity and slip modulus of stud-groove-type connectors was in direct proportion to the diameter of studs and the dimension of the groove. Comparison between the theoretical and the experimental shear strength results showed reasonable agreement. The highlight of this study on shear capacity equations could significantly reduce the push-out tests before investigating the other properties of TCC.
Researchpp 4707-4721Shi, S., Zhou, X., Chen, W., Wang, X., Nguyen, T., and Chen, M. (2017). "Thermal and kinetic behaviors of fallen leaves and waste tires using thermogravimetric analysis," BioRes. 12(3), 4707-4721.Abstract Article PDF
Thermal decomposition characteristics and kinetic parameters of fallen leaves (FLs), waste tires (WTs), and their blends (1:1 weight ratio) were investigated. Pyrolysis experiments were conducted with four different heating rates of 5 °C/min, 10 °C/min, 20 °C/min, and 40 °C/min from 35 °C to 800 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The thermogravimetry/derivative thermogravimetry (TG/DTG) curves indicated that the three samples were mainly degraded in a wide temperature range of 350 °C to 450 °C, and that a greater weight loss rate corresponded to a higher heating rate. An elemental analysis demonstrated that FLs/WTs blends embraced a maximum calorific value that reached 25.24 MJ/kg. Two model-free methods, iso-conversional Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) were applied on the TGA data of samples to calculate the activation energies. The results showed that the average activation energies of the same feedstock based on KAS and FWO methods were approximately the same, with the highest error within 1.6%. Then, the activation energies obtained were introduced in the Coats/Redfern (CR) model-fitting method to derive the pre-exponential factors, based on first order rate of reaction.
Researchpp 4722-4736Ma, Y., Wang, C., and Chu, F. (2017). "Effects of fiber surface treatments on the properties of wood fiber-phenolic foam composites," BioRes. 12(3), 4722-4736.Abstract Article PDF
Wood fibers were modified with alkaline solution and silane coupling agent to study changes on the fiber surface and the influence of these treatments on the mechanical properties, flame resistance, thermal conductivity, and microstructure of wood fiber-phenolic foam composites. Test results indicated that the lignin, waxes, hemicelluloses, and other impurities from the fiber surface were partially dissolved and removed. The mechanical properties of treated wood fiber-phenolic foam composites increased dramatically, the cellular pore distribution was more regular, the size of bubble cells was smaller and more uniform, and the thermal conductivity was reduced, and, in particular, the fragility of treated wood fiber-phenolic foam composites decreased. However, with increasing wood fiber content, the mechanical properties and limited oxygen index (LOI) of composite foam decreased. By comprehensive analysis, it was shown that the interfacial compatibility between the fibers and phenolic resin was improved. Nevertheless, the amount of wood used could not be too high, and the optimum amount was approximately 5%.

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