- Email: [email protected]
02685 Promising industrial energy crop, Cynara cardunculus: a potential source for biomass production and alternative energy
07 Alternative energy sources (bioconversionenergy) 00102685 Promising industrial energy crop, Cynara cardunculus: a potential source for bromass production and alternative energy Piscioneri. 1. Energy Conversion & Managemenr, 2000, 41, (IO), 1091-I 105. The aim of the research work performed on Cynara carciunculus was to develop knowledge about growing this plant in Italy and the possibility of utilising it as an alternative raw material for the paper industry, energy or other valuable products. To achieve the objective, a set of experiments using a germplasm collection of nine genotypes has been conducted. The experimental results obtained have been reported in the present research paper 00102666 Properties of rapeseed oil for use as a diesel fuel extender McDonnell, K. er al. J. Am. Oil Che. Sec., 1999, 76, (5), 539-543. Rape-seed oil (referred to as SRO, i.e. semi-refined rape-seed oil) was analysed both chemically and thermally by being degummed and filtered in order to determine its suitability as a diesel fuel extender. The upper rate for inclusion of SRO with diesel fuel was 25%. This fuel blend had a phosphorus level of 2.5 ppm, which was comparable to rape Me esters (1.0 ppm phosphorus). Thermogravimetric analyses were used to estimate the cetane ratings of the fuels. A 25% SRO/diesel blend had an estimated cetane index of 32.4 compared to 38.1 for diesel fuel only. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses were used to compare the volatility ranges of the fuels. SRO needed higher temperatures for volatilization (i.e. 70-260” for diesel fuel versus 280-520” for SRO). This indicated poorer cold-starting performance of SRO compared with diesel fuel. SRO has a more favourable emissions profile than pure diesel fuel due to its low-sulfur, high-oxygen content. 00/02667 Pyrolysis of forestry biomass by-products in Greece Zabaniotou, A. A. Energy Sources, 1999, 21, (5), 395403. The technical characteristics of a biomass pyrolysis pilot plant recently constructed in central Greece are summarized in this article. The considerations involved in achieving successful pyrolysis technology and environmental and developmental goals are highlighted by reviewing technical and non-technical barriers associated with biomass treatment technology in Greece. Data from the start-up phase of the plant operation are presented and some aspects of the process are outlined. The capacity of the plant is 12OC-1450 kg/h, based on wet biomass (Arhu!us Unedo) and the pyrolysts temperature is approximately 400°C. Char yield is 1418% wt on dry basis and is of good quality consisttng of 76% carbon with heat content 6760 kcal/kg. Bio-oil includes 63% carbon and has a heat content of 6250 kc&kg. The limits of modelling. Experiences with bioenergy 00/02688 in practice-could models have predicted this outcome? Roos, A. and Rakos, C. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2000, 18, (4) 331-340. and Factors that complicate bioenergy model building ‘are presented discussed. Important aspects of ‘real-life’ energy systems that are difficult to represent in modelling are: the cost structure of energy production, information asymmetry, socioeconomic factors, household economics, strategic considerations and policy uncertainties. The modeller can employ different strategies in dealing with these problems. Complicating aspects can be quantified and integrated in the model, mentioned when the implications of the model are discussed or they may merit separate quantitative or qualitative investigations. The authors make some recommendations as to how these aspects could be considered in the modelling work to improve model accuracy. 00102689 The potential of biomass and animal waste of Turkey and the possibilities of these as fuel in thermal generating stations Acaroglu, M. el al. Energy Sources, 1999, 21, (4), 339-345. This paper studied the potential of biomass energy sources and animal solid wastes in Turkey as a source of fuel in thermal generating stations to produce electricity. The effects of biomass and lignite coal usage on the environment were reported comparatively. Considering total cereal products and fatty seed plants, approximately 50-65 million tons/year of biomass and 11,051 million tons of solid matter animal waste are produced, and 60% of biomass is seen as possible to use for energy purposes. The primary energy of applicable biomass was evaluated as 467-623 Peta Joule (PJ) and the energy of animal residues as 50,172 PJ, equal to 22-27% of Turkey’s annual primary energy consumption. 00102690 Thermochemical conversion of biomass Minowa, T. Nippon Enerugi Gakkaishi, 1999, 78, (4), 252-258. (In Japanese) The focus of this review is on thermochemical conversion technologies, such as flash pyrolysis of wood, high-pressure liquefaction, gasification and low-temperature gasification. They have been developed for the production of energy from biomass. This report describes the present status of the technologies on thermochemical conversion of biomass. 00102691 Thermodynamic evaluation for combined combustion of wastes in coal-fired furnaces Born, M. and Arnold, T. B&r. Ahfallwirfsch, 1999, 9, 141-158. (In German)
The problems encountered in the use of alternative fuels affecting the combustion process are pointed out based on thermodynamic calculations. It is shown that using the calculations, predictions can be made regarding the expected corrosion problems caused by the use of alternative fuels for brown coal. 00102692 Towards a sustainable Russian forest sector Carlsson, L. Nar. Rex. Forum, 2000, 24, (I ), 3 l-37 Russia’s forest resources are enormous, but despite almost ten years of transition, problems are still immense, in terms of commercial output and with respect to forest management. This arttcle suggests that one way of changing the situation is to introduce community management of forests. Using the Swedish forest commons as an example, this article argues that such a change in property rights will provide an alternative to massive privatization of the forests and to the undesirable continuation or strengthening of state forest management. Finally, it is concluded that such an introduction of new property rights regimes will not provide the solution to the problems, but rather will contribute to the establishment of a better institutional framework in the Russian forest sector. 00102693 Transesterification of heated rapeseed oil for extending diesel fuel Mittelbach, M. and Enzelsberger, H. J. Am. 011 Chem. ,Soc., 1999. 76, (5), 545-550. Biodiesel consists of fatty acid methyl esters and is well established as an alternative fuel. For economic reasons, used frying oil is an interesting alternative feedstock for biodiesel production. The chemical changes that occur during heating of rapeseed oil, in p’articular the formation of polymers, were investigated. Heated rapeseed oil samples were transesterified with methanol and analysed by size-exclusion chromatography during heating, the amount of polymers in the starting oil increased up to 15 wt%, but only up to 5 wt% in the transesterified samples. So during transesterification, dimeric and trimeric triglycerides in the starting oil were primarily converted into monomeric and dimeric fatty acid methyl esters. The amount of polymeric fatty acid methyl esters had a negative influence on fuel characteristics. After 6 hours of heating, the amount of carbon residue and after 16 hours the viscosity exceeded that of the existing specifications for biodiesel. It is possible to determine whether a waste oil is suitable for the production of biodiesel by the amount of polymers it contains. 00102694 Use of oil from sludge (OFS) technology for treatment of sewage sludges Bien, J. B. et al. Ga:. Wuda Tech. Sanit.. 1999, 73. (I). 19-22. (In Polish) Oil from sludge technology was used to study pyrolysis of sewage sludges. Similar calorific values were found in the pyrolysis chars to that of brown coal, however, they were composed of a substantial quantity of inorganic components, such as ashes. There was a significant amount of HaS and lower hydrocarbons in the gas product. It is necessary for the raw condensate to be processed further prior to its use, for example as a fuel oil. 00102695 Using cotton plant residue to produce briquettes Coates, W. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2000, lg. (3), 201-208. In Arizona, cotton (Gossypium) plant residue left in the field following harvest must be buried to prevent it from servtng as an over-wintering site for insects such as the pink bollworm. Most tillage operations employed to incorporate the residue into the soil are energy intensive and often degrade soil structure. Trials showed that cotton plant residue could be incorporated with pecan shells to produce commercially acceptable briquettes. Pecan shell briquettes containing cotton residue rather than waste paper were slightly less durable, when made using equivalent weight mixtures and moisture contents. Proximate and ultimate analyses showed the only difference among briquette samples to be a htgher ash content in those made using cotton plant residue. Briquettes made with paper demonstrated longer flame out time and lower ash percentage. compared to those made with cotton plant residue. 00102696 Using lime pretreatment to facilitate the enzymic hydrolysis of corn stover Kaar, W. E. and Holtzapple, M. T. Biomass and Biornerg,v, 2000, 18, (3), 189-199. Corn stover is an abundant, potential fermentation substrate. The most efficient means to produce fermentable sugars from corn stover is by enzymic hydrolysis, which is facilitated by thermochemical pre-treatment of the corn stover. Pre-treatment with slake lime (calcium hydroxide) increased the enzymic hydrolysis of corn stover nine times compared to untreated corn stover. The recommended pre-treatment conditions are: lime loading 0.075 g Ca(OH)a (g dry biomass) ‘; water loading 5 g Ha0 (g enzyme dry biomass) ‘; and heating for 4 h at 120°C. The recommended loading for the enzymi; saccharification of pre-treated corn stover is 10 and the recommended hydrolysis temperature is FPU (g dry biomass) 40°C. The enzymic conversion of the corn stover to monosaccharides, when pre-treated and saccharified as prescribed for 72 h, was about 60% cellulose, 47% xylan and 53% total available pplysaccharide. Increasing the and the hydrolysis time to enzyme loading to 25 FPU (g dry biomass) 7 days produced conversions of 88.0, 87.7 and 92.1% for the glucan, xylan and arabinan, respectively. These high conversions indicate that pre-
Fuel and Energy Abstracts
September 2000
299
The problems encountered in the use of alternative fuels affecting the combustion process are pointed out based on thermodynamic calculations. It is shown that using the calculations, predictions can be made regarding the expected corrosion problems caused by the use of alternative fuels for brown coal. 00102692 Towards a sustainable Russian forest sector Carlsson, L. Nar. Rex. Forum, 2000, 24, (I ), 3 l-37 Russia’s forest resources are enormous, but despite almost ten years of transition, problems are still immense, in terms of commercial output and with respect to forest management. This arttcle suggests that one way of changing the situation is to introduce community management of forests. Using the Swedish forest commons as an example, this article argues that such a change in property rights will provide an alternative to massive privatization of the forests and to the undesirable continuation or strengthening of state forest management. Finally, it is concluded that such an introduction of new property rights regimes will not provide the solution to the problems, but rather will contribute to the establishment of a better institutional framework in the Russian forest sector. 00102693 Transesterification of heated rapeseed oil for extending diesel fuel Mittelbach, M. and Enzelsberger, H. J. Am. 011 Chem. ,Soc., 1999. 76, (5), 545-550. Biodiesel consists of fatty acid methyl esters and is well established as an alternative fuel. For economic reasons, used frying oil is an interesting alternative feedstock for biodiesel production. The chemical changes that occur during heating of rapeseed oil, in p’articular the formation of polymers, were investigated. Heated rapeseed oil samples were transesterified with methanol and analysed by size-exclusion chromatography during heating, the amount of polymers in the starting oil increased up to 15 wt%, but only up to 5 wt% in the transesterified samples. So during transesterification, dimeric and trimeric triglycerides in the starting oil were primarily converted into monomeric and dimeric fatty acid methyl esters. The amount of polymeric fatty acid methyl esters had a negative influence on fuel characteristics. After 6 hours of heating, the amount of carbon residue and after 16 hours the viscosity exceeded that of the existing specifications for biodiesel. It is possible to determine whether a waste oil is suitable for the production of biodiesel by the amount of polymers it contains. 00102694 Use of oil from sludge (OFS) technology for treatment of sewage sludges Bien, J. B. et al. Ga:. Wuda Tech. Sanit.. 1999, 73. (I). 19-22. (In Polish) Oil from sludge technology was used to study pyrolysis of sewage sludges. Similar calorific values were found in the pyrolysis chars to that of brown coal, however, they were composed of a substantial quantity of inorganic components, such as ashes. There was a significant amount of HaS and lower hydrocarbons in the gas product. It is necessary for the raw condensate to be processed further prior to its use, for example as a fuel oil. 00102695 Using cotton plant residue to produce briquettes Coates, W. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2000, lg. (3), 201-208. In Arizona, cotton (Gossypium) plant residue left in the field following harvest must be buried to prevent it from servtng as an over-wintering site for insects such as the pink bollworm. Most tillage operations employed to incorporate the residue into the soil are energy intensive and often degrade soil structure. Trials showed that cotton plant residue could be incorporated with pecan shells to produce commercially acceptable briquettes. Pecan shell briquettes containing cotton residue rather than waste paper were slightly less durable, when made using equivalent weight mixtures and moisture contents. Proximate and ultimate analyses showed the only difference among briquette samples to be a htgher ash content in those made using cotton plant residue. Briquettes made with paper demonstrated longer flame out time and lower ash percentage. compared to those made with cotton plant residue. 00102696 Using lime pretreatment to facilitate the enzymic hydrolysis of corn stover Kaar, W. E. and Holtzapple, M. T. Biomass and Biornerg,v, 2000, 18, (3), 189-199. Corn stover is an abundant, potential fermentation substrate. The most efficient means to produce fermentable sugars from corn stover is by enzymic hydrolysis, which is facilitated by thermochemical pre-treatment of the corn stover. Pre-treatment with slake lime (calcium hydroxide) increased the enzymic hydrolysis of corn stover nine times compared to untreated corn stover. The recommended pre-treatment conditions are: lime loading 0.075 g Ca(OH)a (g dry biomass) ‘; water loading 5 g Ha0 (g enzyme dry biomass) ‘; and heating for 4 h at 120°C. The recommended loading for the enzymi; saccharification of pre-treated corn stover is 10 and the recommended hydrolysis temperature is FPU (g dry biomass) 40°C. The enzymic conversion of the corn stover to monosaccharides, when pre-treated and saccharified as prescribed for 72 h, was about 60% cellulose, 47% xylan and 53% total available pplysaccharide. Increasing the and the hydrolysis time to enzyme loading to 25 FPU (g dry biomass) 7 days produced conversions of 88.0, 87.7 and 92.1% for the glucan, xylan and arabinan, respectively. These high conversions indicate that pre-
Fuel and Energy Abstracts
September 2000
299