Waste biomass transformation

Biorefineries New catalytic pretreatment of plant materials Valorization, pretreatment or disposal of co-products and wastes from biorefinery by catalytic treatments New and/or improved catalytic processes for chemicals production through the integration of the biorefinery concept and products into the existing chemical production chain New advanced catalytic solutions to reduce waste emissions (solid, air and, especially, water) New catalysts to selectively de-oxygenate products from biomass transformation Catalysts to selectively convert chemicals in complex multicomponent feedstocks New biomimetic catalysts able to operate under mild conditions Small catalytic pyrolysis process to produce stabilized oil for further processing in larger plants... 

B.S. Kaith, and A.S. Singha, "Physico-chemico-thermal transformation in waste biomass to novel regenerated Hfbfscws sabdariffa-g-poly (methyl acrylate) co-polymers" International Conference on Design of Biomaterials (BIND-06), IIT-Kanpur, 2006. 

Surfactants Obtained from Chemical Transformation of Waste Biomass... 

Second-generation biofuel technologies make use of a much wider range of biomass feedstock (e.g., forest residues, biomass waste, wood, woodchips, grasses and short rotation crops, etc.) for the production of ethanol biofuels based on the fermentation of lignocellulosic material, while other routes include thermo-chemical processes such as biomass gasification followed by a transformation from gas to liquid (e.g., synthesis) to obtain synthetic fuels similar to diesel. The conversion processes for these routes have been available for decades, but none of them have yet reached a high scale commercial level. 

Several workers recommended a promising strategy by boosting the bioremediation of contaminated soil with cheap biomass products such as alfalfa, sawdust, chopped potato waste, apple pomace, cow and chicken manure, straw, or molasses in compost systems [215, 415-417]. These applications have led to transformations of TNT of more than 95% [414,415, 417] and were often accompanied by detoxification effects [414,418]. 

Another application is to ultrapyrolyze cellulose and other biomass wastes. Commercial tests show that one can transform about 75% of wood into oil, and about 70% of sawdust into oil-useful liquids having the consistency of light engine oil. Much research is proceeding on this application (from Bergougnou, 1998). 

Enzymes are the active components in the cells, where they induce the chemical transformations. They can be removed from the cells without loss of activity and sold as separate products. These isolated enzymes are used in many industrial processes, especially in food production. They are more stable and easier to handle than the original microorganisms from which they were isolated. The enzymes are often obtained from the waste bacterial biomass that remains after food fermentation processes. 

Utilization of wood-biomass residues as well as waste polymers is the important direction of recent research activities. It is known that direct catalytic liquefaction of plant biomass can be used to produce liquid fuels and chemicals [1,2]. Co-pyrolysis and co-hydropyrolysis processes have the potential for the environmentally friendly transformation of lignocellulosic and plastic waste to valuable chemicals. 

Despite the variety of sources, all lignocellulosic material is composed primarily of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin [22], Agricultural wastes such as bagasse, com stover and wheat straw are thus a relatively cheap source of these three biopolymers. The major challenge to using lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock is the development of cost-effective methods to separate, refine and transform it into chemicals and fuels [20],... 

Growth of biomass is typically of crucial importance in SSF processes, even if the biomass itself is not the final product. The processes of nutrient consumption, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide evolution, waste heat release, and product formation are intimately related to the growth process and therefore it is usually essential to characterize the growth curve. Unfortunately, on-line biomass measurement is still impossible in SSF, despite efforts to develop on-line sensors based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy [176]. 

The most important process for transforming biomass into chemicals is pyrolysis, used e.g. with wood, to produce acetic acid and charcoal. Other conversion processes which are also used include partial oxidation of waste containing wood... 

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