Volume 14 Issue 2

To evaluate the effect of biochar on soil characteristics and maize yields in meadow soil, a three-year field experiment was performed using different amounts of biochar (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 t/ha). The soil pH decreased over time when biochar was applied to weakly basic soil. Single biochar applications increased the organic carbon, total nitrogen, available K, and cation exchange capacity for three continuous years, in proportion to the amount of biochar applied. However, as time progressed, the soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available K, and cation exchange capacity began to decrease. The biochar stimulated the availability of soil phosphorus in the meadow soil and stably increased the available P content in the soil for three years. For maize, the biochar application decreased the occurrence of barren ear tips and increased the ear length, grain number per row, 100-kernel weight, and yield. When the single applications of biochar were greater than 40 t/ha, the soil characteristics showed continuous improvements and the maize yields stably increased for three years.

Large quantities of burned or abandoned rose stalks are leading to serious environmental pollution. In this study, the effect of the moisture content of a solid-state NaOH pretreatment on methane production was first determined by a biochemical methane potential test. Then, the effect of codigestion with pig manure on methane production was investigated under the optimal moisture via thermophilic semi-dry anaerobic digestion by leaching bed reactor. Biogas production kinetic was assessed by the first-order kinetic model and modified Gompertz model. An increase in methane yield and biogas production kinetics was shown in the solid-state NaOH pretreated biomass. There was no significant difference in methane production for the three moisture contents studied during pretreatment (54%, 70%, and 77%). The anaerobic codigestion of rose stalk and pig manure increased 41% to 52% for methane yields and improved biogas production kinetics compared with monodigestion of rose stalk. Anaerobic codigestion did not greatly change the process stability, except for NH4+-N. The optimal process for the anaerobic digestion of rose stalk was as follows. The rose stalk was initially pretreated via solid-state NaOH pretreatment with a moisture content of 70%. Then, the pretreated rose stalk was co-digested with pig manure at a total solids ratio of 1:1.

Bamboo can be used in a variety of ways, including as fuel and as household and construction materials. Due to its versatility, the material is of high economic value. This study investigated the fuel properties of six bamboo species grown in Indonesia. Each bamboo sample was carbonized at different temperatures. Proximate and ultimate analyses were carried out on the bamboo samples. The thermal maturity of the bamboo samples as a solid fuel was investigated by the van Krevelen diagram. The efficiency of bamboo at each carbonizing temperature was determined based on the char yield, energy densification rate, energy efficiency, and calorific value. The results showed that the ash and fixed carbon contents of carbonized bamboo increased with an increasing carbonization temperature; while the volatile matter decreased. Significant changes in the fuel properties were observed between 200 °C and 400 °C. Carbonized bamboos showed lower sulfur contents in comparison to other fossil fuels. Ampel bamboo showed a calorific value of 18 MJ/kg to 32 MJ/kg, which was the highest value among the samples. Bamboo carbonized at temperatures above 600 °C showed a thermal maturity of coal grade. The results of this study can be used for utilizing Indonesian bamboo as a fuel source.

This study compares the economic efficiency of wooden buildings from standard to low-energy, near-passive, and zero-energy homes. The comparison was carried out over the entire expected life cycle of the building (100 years), but due to the high uncertainty of the predictions of fuel and energy prices or discount rates and the clarity of the depiction of the subsequent results, a period of 30 years was also chosen. The most common and most suitable media and combinations for heating (gas, electricity, and wood) were selected. When calculating the entire life cycle of a building, it was found that the more stringent the energy standard, the lower the overall life cycle costs, and the share of heating costs also decreases with the highest costs being electricity heating alternatives. Adversely, the lowest costs were for the fictitious zero-energy home (ZEN) alternative with net metering followed, by some distance, by near zero-energy home alternatives and passive homes. With the chosen period of 30 years, initially after construction, it was shown that the cost is lowest to heat a standard home with gas, which is used by more than 60% of family homes for heating in the Czech Republic.

Bagasse spraying wastewater (BSW) is a source of organic pollutants during bagasse processing. In this study, the feasibility of anaerobic treatment of BSW under different calcium concentrations (60 to 2400 mg/L) was studied. The experiment was performed in a lab-scale up-flow multistage anaerobic reactor (UMAR) inoculated with granular sludge, and operated for 160 days at a constant organic loading rate of 6 kg COD/(m3·d). Treatment of BSW with 60 to 800 mg Ca2+/L resulted in 80.7 to 82.7% of COD removal, 161 to 232.7 mg COD/L of volatile fatty acid (VFA) yield, 0.56 to 0.79 m3/(kgCOD·d) of biogas production rate, and 2.4 to 2.66 m3/(m3·d) of volume loading rate (VLR). The pH remained within the optimal range for anaerobic digestion (adjust to pH = 6.8 to 7.0). The VFAs were composed of 77 to 85% acetic acid, 8.4 to 13.2% butyric acid, and 6.6 to 9.6% propionic acid. At higher influent calcium concentrations (> 800 mg/L), the hydrolysis process appeared to be inhibited, affecting the anaerobic digestion performance of the reactor. In particular, the COD removal efficiency decreased to 55.5%, and the VFA content in the effluent significantly increased due to the lower pH. Microbial community analysis showed that at the end of anaerobic digestion, the Syntrophobacter disappeared, and Clostridium and Anerolineaceae were the main genus and family, respectively. Overall, the results indicated that low calcium (< 300 mg/L) had a positive effect on the UMAR performance.

The adsorption capacity of cadmium ions by pine sawdust biomass and biochar was evaluated in batch experiments. Pine sawdust biochars were pyrolyzed at 500 °C and 700 °C and obtained in the absence of oxygen. The adsorption capacity of biochar was higher than the raw biomass (3.47 mg/g). Biochars produced at 700 °C showed better adsorption efficiency (6.09 mg/g) than that produced at 500 °C (4.78 mg/g). Also, the adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms were studied. The adsorption behavior of cadmium by pine sawdust biomass and biochar fitted Langmuir isotherms and pseudo-second order kinetics. In addition, the desorption experiment by different solutions (neutral, acidic, and alkaline) were conducted. The desorption of cadmium ions in neutral and alkaline environments was not obvious, while the desorption in an acidic environment was. Pine sawdust biochar, pyrolyzed at 700 °C, is a potential adsorbent for cadmium removal in neutral and alkaline environments.

An amphiphilic mesoporous carbon-based solid acid (LCx-SO3H) with high specific surface area was prepared from kraft lignin that was carbonized using a phosphoric acid treatment. It was found that the specific surface area, pore structure, and amphiphilic nature of the catalyst was effectively controlled through adjusting the phosphoric acid dosage during lignin carbonization. Under optimum preparation conditions, the specific surface area, pore volume, and average pore size of the catalyst were 282.2 m2/g, 0.26 cm3/g, and 6.73 nm, respectively. The performance of this solid acid catalyst for the hydration of α-pinene was characterized via gas chromatography analysis. The conversion of α-pinene and the yield of α-terpineol during hydration reaction were as high as 95.3% and 55.3%, respectively; these results were greater than the results from other hydration methods with sulfuric acid and commercially available solid acid catalysts (e.g., Amberlyst-15). After five recycles of the carbon-based solid acid without regeneration, conversion of α-pinene decreased from 95.3% to 92.6%, and the yield of α-terpineol decreased from 55.3% to 47.6%. These observations indicated that the solid acid catalyst derived from kraft lignin carbonization has high potential as a hydration agent for α-pinene.

As timber tends to be weak against the load perpendicular to grains, it can be important to study the consequences of applying loads perpendicular to larch cross-laminated timber (CLT) composed of multiple larch laminae. Compression tests were conducted perpendicular to the in-plane and out-of-plane grains of Japanese larch CLT. Out-of-plane average compressive strength, average yield strength, and average compressive stiffness perpendicular to the grain of the larch CLT were 11.94 N/mm2, 7.30 N/mm2, and 7.30 N/mm3, respectively, whereas the in-plane average compressive strength, average yield strength, and average compressive stiffness perpendicular to the grain of the larch CLT were 21.48 N/mm2, 21.18 N/mm2, and 18.72 N/mm3, respectively. The in-plane compressive strength and yield strength showed a statistically significant relationship with the density of CLT, the modulus of elasticity measured by longitudinal vibration (MOELV), and the average MOELV of the laminae constructing the cross-laminated timber. The in-plane yield strength was affected by the MOELV of the outer laminae and the average MOELV of the larch cross-laminated timber. The compressive strength properties were most affected by the loading surface of the CLT. The variation between the moisture content and compressive strength properties of the CLT, however, was not statistically significant.

In order to optimize its production technology, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the hot-pressing process during the preparation of chitosan-modified starch adhesive film. Ranges of hot-pressing temperature, hot-pressing time, and adhesive consumption were selected based on single-factor tests. A quadratic regression model of the bonding strength was obtained by fitting the response value of the bonding strength of the plywood. The results showed that the adhesive consumption and the hot-pressing temperature had a significant effect on the bonding strength of the adhesive. Also, the interaction between the temperature, time, and adhesive consumption were significant. The optimum hot-pressing process parameters for chitosan-modified starch adhesive film were a hot-pressing temperature of 145.2 °C, a hot-pressing time of 182.7 s, and an adhesive consumption of 239.3 g/m2. The predicted values of the quadratic regression model fit well with the actual values of the stability test.

Effects of aging after pyrolysis were tested relative to the physicochemical characteristics of peanut straw biochar. Biochar was prepared at pyrolysis temperatures of 350 °C, 500 °C, and 650 °C; then, it was freeze-thawed and dry-wet aged. The physicochemical characteristics of the fresh and aged biochar were analyzed. The results showed that the pyrolysis temperature, ambient temperature, and humidity affected the physicochemical characteristics of the biochar. With the increase of pyrolysis temperature, the yield and surface acidic functional groups of the fresh biochar decreased, whereas the ash content, C content, pH, specific surface area, and mesoporous volume of the fresh biochar increased. The aging treatment increased the acidic functional groups content in the biochar and reduced the aromatic functional groups content, which decreased the pH value of the biochar. The aging treatment increased the specific surface area and pore volume of the biochar, and the effect of freeze-thaw aging was greater than that of dry-wet aging. The aging treatment also destroyed the complete shape of the fresh biochar, and reduced its stability. After the aging treatment, the C content of the biochar decreased, whereas the O content increased, due to oxidation of the biochar.