An Experimental Study on Hydrothermal Treatment of Sweet Sorghum Bagasse for the Extraction of Hemicellulose

Thirdly, the cost of biofuel is high because its production and infrastructural cost is humongous. To create biofuel, large tracts of land need to be cleared for setting up the plant. This is not feasible because of global economic meltdown whose one major disadvantage is the rising food prices. If the land that could be better used for producing the much needed food crops, there is no need to use the same land for generating biofuels (FAO 07). Furthermore, the cost of establishing and running a biofuel plant runs into billions. Where would the money come from? Of course, the people have to pay for them, doubly, first for purchasing biofuel and secondly in the form of taxes. Ironically, the common man cannot afford such expenses given the current economic situation, which if not controlled will create more problems in the future like unemployment, an issue more important than debating biofuels and diesel fuels (Stern 07).

Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from the waste of corn, and its potential for minimalizing pollution is huge. The first company to find the breakthrough, DSM, gained recognition, but was met with obstacles in the production of this biofuel in the form of rocks, which contaminated the corn waste and clogged the machinery. However, DSM soon overcame this obstacle and now produces truckloads of cellulosic ethanol every week. This environmentally friendly biofuel is everywhere, ranging from animal feed to solar panels. DSM is aimed towards “improving the planet and the lives of people on it”. Feike Sijbesma, the CEO of DSM, states that the company values “People. Planet. Profit” and is geared towards addressing malnutrition and climate

“has been successfully used for many years to create bioethanol and biodiesel, is environmentally friendlier to produce than sugar beet, palm oil, corn or any of the crops mentioned in the report and can grow in practically any temperate to hot climate leaving the ground in better condition than when it was

Currently the market that the biosystems has been catering with reference to its harvester is the foreign markets of Brazil, Latin America, British Columbia and Scandinavia. As these countries show great potential of growth in the in the biomass-based

Sucrose is extracted from the stalks and utilized across a plethora of sugar based products. Sugar cane processing includes shredding the stalks and pressing them between rollers to extract the juices. The remaining fibrous mass of crushed stalks is known as bagasse. Bagasse is an abundant, high volume by-product. In 2011, a Florida sugar plant produced nearly 3 metric tons of bagasse for every 10 metric tons of sugar can crushed. Bagasse is used across a variety of lignocellulosic materials and to generate energy, through methods such as converting to methanol.

To solve the rigorous threat to earth from global warming, bio-fuels serve as the most feasible source of energy all over the world. The environmental and economical performance of bio-fuel as compared to fossil fuel was analyzed by full Life Cycle Analyses (LCA) in Spain. The Spanish government CIEMAT, carried out two LCA’s so as to compare ethanol-ethanol mixtures with gasoline, and biodiesel-biodiesel mixtures with fuel oil according to ISO 14040-43 standards, these standards evaluate energy and mass balance for two or more objects. It was concluded that carbon dioxide emission during utilization of bio-fuel are lower than fossil fuel and bio-fuel requires less primary energy to be processed than fossil fuels. Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association submitted the letter to the editor of The Gazette in which he marked that “On an environmental level, conventional ethanol is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 34% compared to petroleum, including hypothetical land use change emissions” (qtd. in renewable fuel association). As the raw material for

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

This decision was most difficult for me to make because bio-fuels producing technology is at a

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

Power energy is an essential source that has a profound effect on our daily basis. Whether is electrical, coal-based fuel, nuclear, etc., it is almost crucial not to live without any sort of energy source for most people. In Africa, there’s not doubt about the lack of these types of systems especially in isolated places. Renewable sources are the immediate hope of the future to generate energy while protecting the environment. A great innovative source of energy is biogas; is the process by which energy is generated from waste, an excellent way to use leftovers from agricultural activities and even kitchen waste. Biogas technology, which converts biological waste into energy, is considered by many to be an excellent tool for improving life, especially those in developing countries. The implementation of biogas as an energy source will tremendously improve the living conditions of many African people. The total cost of the construction of a Flexi Biogas system is $410, a affordable solution

This essay focuses on two renewable energy resources. First of all, biofuel is now accepted as alternative energy in worldwide. The figures continue upward trend in the biofuel production. ‘An annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2006 to 2030 is expected for total biofuels consumption in the transport sector’ (International Energy Agency: 2008 cited in Zhou, et al., 2009:S11). Significant leaders of the biofuel market are Brazil, the United States and the European Union. The results of research indicated that 92% of the world’s ethanol is produced by Brazil and US together, while 90% of the world’s biodiesel manufactured by the EU. In addition, several developing countries in Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have an enormous potential for biofuel production. Now these countries are

Dry-mill, the more common and standardized of the two processes, utilizes the four basic processes of ethanol production, “clean corn is ground and mixed with water to form a mash… enzymes are added to convert starch to sugar… yeast is added to ferment… then distilled and dehydrated to create fuel-grade 99-percent ethanol” (Shapouri 2). The Wet-mill process commonly referred to as a “biorefinery” process approaches ethanol from a more atomic level. In Wet-mill ethanol production “grain must be separated into is components including starch, fiber, gluten, and germ” (Shapouri 2). Nevertheless Wet-mill production still uses the three processes above to create ethanol, the difference between Wet and Dry-mill is the quality of their byproduct. Through Dry-milling you avoid the complexity of multiply biochemical disseminations, which save energy and money through lower skill labor and lower tooling costs. However Wet-mill production makes more efficient use of mass and higher quality byproducts that will have greater market value. In the end the net cost of either method is variable, yet on the average the cost to produce a gallon of ethanol is less for Dry-milling than for Wet, yet when you consider the sale of extra byproducts this figure is reversed (SEE Table 2).

To produce low-ash, high Btu briquettes form coal fine and timber wastes research works were done in the University of Kentucky. More than 70 million tons of coal fines are dumped at the abandoned site near the Appalachian coal fields. Combining the coal fine with the wastes from nearby timber industries briquettes were made and tested for various parameters. It was concluded that the briquettes were of premium quality and that offers near term practical solutions to generate green energy utilizing existing equipments [1]. There are works going on in designing energy management methods in biomass applications, as at least 15% of energy is wasted in drying the biomass before using in boilers or any other heating system. The typical moisture content of biomass varies from 50% to 63% by weight in most of the situations including the seasons and types of biomass. A low initial moisture level could utilize most of the energy released during combustion and it will make larger boiler unnecessary. Utilizing exhaust gases to preheat the input biomass to a lower level of moisture can conserve the energy significantly [3]. Though briquetting of biomass as a green fuel is a necessary solution, the primary importance of any biomass should be for feeding animals. In Mexico the excesses residues of corn, sugarcane, sorghum and wheat are briquetted and sent to livestock growing regions to handle dry seasons. There were other advantages like homogeneous

Dry corn straws were ground and sieved using a 40-mesh sieve. Then, the resulting corn straw crash was made alkaline with 15% NaOH solution at 55 °C in a water bath for 2.5 h. The resulting solution was oxidized and bleached by H2O2, dried, and ground to get cellulose. The obtained cellulose was immersed in 17.5% NaOH solution and stirred for 1 h, followed by immersing for 3 h. Then, it was washed and neutralized with deionized water, filtered, and dried to afford alkaline fibers. The alkaline fibers (1.6 g) and 100 mL deionized water were added to a 250 mL three-neck flask. The resulting mixture was stirred for 10 min at 40 °C under N2, followed by adding KPS. After 20 min, 4.8 g AMPS monomer was added. After another 4 h, the sulphonated cellulose was cooled, washed successively with water and ethanol, and dried.

The report is made as part of the requirements of MG5031 Professional Engineering Development paper. The report proposes the construction of a liquid biofuel production plant in the Greater Wellington Region. It comprises of a background on biofuels and its production in New Zealand, the current market for fossil fuels and why the need for alternatives. It also contains the details of the production plant along with certain aspects that come along with the resource management. The report also covers the process of resolving issues with Maori and the Crown arising from the proposed project. And lastly, it will cover the benefits, the challenges to be faced and the risks associated and ways to reduce and resolve some of these risks.