Biomass industry, composition

Therefore, bioplastics may prove to be the most rapidly growing new materials application for biomass. Industrial starches, fatty acids, and vegetable oils can serve as raw materials for bioplastics, including polymer composite materials. Waste paper and crop and forest wastes and virgin materials are being used as the basis of new composite materials and new fabrics, including Tencel, the first new textile fiber to be introduced in 30 years. 

Biocomposites (the title of Volume 111), are often interpreted as either biomass-based or biomedical materials. The former have a wider meaning than the latter, because they are available for various industrial purposes. A biomass-based composite consists of biomass and/or biomass-derived substance. On the other hand, a biomedical composite is a specified material because it is limited merely to biomedical use. In this use, the constituents are not necessarily biomass-based or biodegradable, but should be biocompatible. In the present volume, as stated earlier, by biocomposites, we mean biomass-based composites. 

With increasing petroleum cost and environmental concerns, the composite industry is in need of an alternative source of fibers and polymers. Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer on the planet. Thus, harnessing cellulose fibers from the biomass for composite fabrication seems like a logical step [1,2]. Even though cellulose fibers, especially cellulose nano and micro fibrils, have excellent mechanical characteristics [3,4], these fibers are yet to reach widespread recognition in the composite industry. Other biomass natural polymers, such as hemicellulose, lignin, and various pectins, could also be utilized in composite fabrication. 

The contributions that catalysts make to almost every facet of our daily lives cannot be overstated. Virtually every natural resource (cmde oil, coal, biomass, minerals) and every source of energy (petrochemical fuels, nuclear, natural gas, solar) require the use of many catalysts before finished products (fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, polymers, composites) arrive in our homes, offices and industries [1]. Catalysts also play increasingly important roles in solving some of the most challenging environmental problems that we currently face (global warming, the greenhouse effect, limited natural resources and polluhon) [2]. 

Particle physical properties typically change under the impact of smoke plume but these changes may not be specific for the wildfire smoke. In addition to biomass burning, particle mass or number concentration can increase due to the biogenic or other anthropogenic sources, e.g., traffic or industrial emissions. Chemical composition of particles is more unique to particle source, however, particles with similar chemistry can have different origin. Physical and chemical properties of the LRT biomass burning particles observed in Northern Europe are discussed below. Physical properties and the chemical components measured from the smoke particles are summarized in Table 2. The measurements of PM mass concentrations are excluded from Table 2 as nearly all the studies had some measurements of particle mass. 

Approximately 89 million metric t of organic chemicals and lubricants, the majority of which are fossil based, are produced annually in the United States. The development of new industrial bioproducts, for production in standalone facilities or biorefineries, has the potential to reduce our dependence on imported oil and improve energy security. Advances in biotechnology are enabling the optimization of feedstock composition and agronomic characteristics and the development of new and improved fermentation organisms for conversion of biomass to new end products or intermediates. This article reviews recent biotechnology efforts to develop new industrial bioproducts and improve renewable feedstocks and key market opportunities. 

The most important monomers for the production of polyolefins, in terms of industrial capacity, are ethylene, propylene and butene, followed by isobutene and 4-methyl-1-pentene. Higher a-olefins, such as 1-hexene, and cyclic monomers, such as norbornene, are used together with the monomers mentioned above, to produce copolymer materials. Another monomer with wide application in the polymer industry is styrene. The main sources presently used and conceivably usable for olefin monomer production are petroleum (see also Chapters 1 and 3), natural gas (largely methane plus some ethane, etc.), coal (a composite of polymerized and cross-linked hydrocarbons containing many impurities), biomass (organic wastes from plants or animals), and vegetable oils (see Chapter 3). 

Typical examples of the first approach, upgrading or improving the fiiel, are the catalytic removal of sulfur and aromatic compounds in automotive fuels [8,9]. A shift from the use of coal to the use of natural gas as a fuel in many industrial applications has led to reduced emissions, due to the favorable composition of natural gas as compared to coal. However, future developments of combustion processes will most likely include the use of more low-grade fuels, such as heavy fuel oils [10]. The use of coal will increase again, which can be related to its relative abundance. Finally, low-Btu fuels, such as gasified biomass or gasified coal will play an important role [11]. 

Cellulosic fiber reinforced polymeric composites find applications in many fields ranging from the construction industry to the automotive industry. The reinforcing efficiency of natural fiber is related to the namre of cellulose and its crystallinity. The main components of natural fibers are cellulose (a-cellulose), hemicelluloses, lignin, pectins, and waxes. For example, biopolymers or synthetic polymers reinforced with natural or biofibers (termed biocomposites) are a viable alternative to glass fiber composites. The term biocomposite is now being applied to a staggering range of materials derived wholly or in part from renewable biomass resources [23]. 

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