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Chemical Engineering

Faculty Publications

Biomass

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Challenges To Levulinic Acid And Humins Valuation In The Sugarcane Bagasse Biorefinery Concept, Emília Savioli Lopes, Jean Felipe Leal Silva, Elmer Ccopa Rivera, Alana Petrina Gomes, Melina Savioli Lopes, Rubens Maciel Filho, Laura Plazas Tovar Sep 2020

Challenges To Levulinic Acid And Humins Valuation In The Sugarcane Bagasse Biorefinery Concept, Emília Savioli Lopes, Jean Felipe Leal Silva, Elmer Ccopa Rivera, Alana Petrina Gomes, Melina Savioli Lopes, Rubens Maciel Filho, Laura Plazas Tovar

Faculty Publications

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Levulinic acid (LA) is currently one of the most promising chemicals derived from biomass. However, its large-scale production is hampered by the challenges in biomass hydrolysis and the poor selectivity due to the formation of humins (HUs). This study addresses these challenges using the biorefinery concept of biomass fractionation. A three-step process (pretreatment, delignification, and acid-catalyzed conversion) was optimized to produce LA from SCB considering the yield (YLA), efficiency (ELA), and concentration of LA (CLA) as functions of temperature, reaction time, acid concentration, and solids loading. By means of a …


A Review Of Coal Heating Value Correlations With Application To Coal Char, Tar, And Other Fuels, Andrew P. Richards, Denver Haycock, Jacob F. Frandsen, Thomas H. Fletcher Aug 2020

A Review Of Coal Heating Value Correlations With Application To Coal Char, Tar, And Other Fuels, Andrew P. Richards, Denver Haycock, Jacob F. Frandsen, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Accurately measuring a fuel’s heating value is one of the first steps in the classification of a new fuel. Heating values are widely used in coal combustion research and are becoming more useful in other fuel types as well. Many different empirical correlations to predict heating values based on primary organic (CHONS) elemental composition are found in the literature, many of which were originally created to predict heating values of parent coal, and some of which have been extended for biomass. However, no correlations exist for heating values of coal chars and tars. Thirteen literature heating value correlations (10 model …


Heating Rate And Temperature Effects On Pyrolysis Products From Live Wildland Fuels, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, Elham Amini, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2019

Heating Rate And Temperature Effects On Pyrolysis Products From Live Wildland Fuels, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, Elham Amini, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Wildland fire, which includes both planned (prescribed fire) and unplanned (wildfire) fires, is an important component of many ecosystems. During wildland fires, low heating rate pyrolysis (slow pyrolysis) occurs during preheating and/or smoldering of plant material. High heating rate pyrolysis (fast pyrolysis) exists in the flame region. Pyrolysis temperature and heating rate play important roles on the yields and the compositions of pyrolysis products. In this work, the effects of pyrolysis temperature and heating rate on the yields and the compositions of pyrolysis products from 14 plant species native to the forests of the southern United States are shown. The …


Pyrolysis Kinetics Of Live And Dead Wildland Vegetation From The Southern United States, Elham Amini, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2019

Pyrolysis Kinetics Of Live And Dead Wildland Vegetation From The Southern United States, Elham Amini, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

The fundamental combustion behavior of live wildland vegetation is not fully understood. Since the combustion process during wildland fire starts with pyrolysis, there is a need for better understanding of pyrolysis to develop improved wildland fire models. The kinetics of pyrolysis of live and dead wildland vegetation has not been explored in detail. In this study, the pyrolysis kinetics were determined for 14 different plant species (live and dead) which are all native to the forests in the southern United States. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) under inert conditions at 5 different heating rates ranged …


Characterization Of Pyrolysis Products From Fast Pyrolysis Of Live And Dead Vegetation Native To The Southern United States, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, Mahmood Rahmati, Elham Amini, Joel E. Howarth, Jansen P. Berryhill, Mark Dietenberger, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2018

Characterization Of Pyrolysis Products From Fast Pyrolysis Of Live And Dead Vegetation Native To The Southern United States, Mohammad-Saeed Safdari, Mahmood Rahmati, Elham Amini, Joel E. Howarth, Jansen P. Berryhill, Mark Dietenberger, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Prescribed burning (controlled burning) is used to decrease accumulation of combustible materials and reduce impact of uncontrolled wildland fires. Prescribed fires are often used to burn undergrowth in Southern forests of the United States. In order to improve prescribed fire application, accomplish desired fire effects, and limit potential runaway fires, an improved understanding of the fundamental processes related to combustion of heterogeneous fuel beds of live and dead fuels is needed. The initial processes of combustion involve pyrolysis and ignition. During this research, fast pyrolysis of 14 live and dead (biomass) plant species which are native to the Southern United …


Co2 Char Gasification Rates Of Sawdust, Switchgrass, And Corn Stover In A Pressurized Entrained-Flow Reactor, Thomas H. Fletcher, Aaron D. Lewis, Emmett G. Fletcher Jan 2014

Co2 Char Gasification Rates Of Sawdust, Switchgrass, And Corn Stover In A Pressurized Entrained-Flow Reactor, Thomas H. Fletcher, Aaron D. Lewis, Emmett G. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

An entrained-flow flat-flame burner reactor was used to measure apparent CO2 gasification rates of near-spherical biomass chars of poplar sawdust, switchgrass, and corn stover using particle residence times1258−1891 K and 6.1− 13.5 atm, respectively. A new method was developed to produce near-spherical particles from nonspherical biomass chars. The apparent CO2 gasification rates for the three biomass chars with mean diameters near 100 μm were fit to a global first-order model, and the optimal kinetic parameters are reported. The measured gasification rate of poplar sawdust was about 3.9 times faster than that of switchgrass char, but only about 20% faster than …


Prediction Of Tar And Light Gas During Pyrolysis Of Black Liquor And Biomass, Thomas H. Fletcher, Harland R. Pond, Jarom Webster, Judson Wooters, Larry L. Baxter Jan 2012

Prediction Of Tar And Light Gas During Pyrolysis Of Black Liquor And Biomass, Thomas H. Fletcher, Harland R. Pond, Jarom Webster, Judson Wooters, Larry L. Baxter

Faculty Publications

A generalized model for describing the pyrolysis behavior of low-grade fuels is being developed for incorporation into larger combustion simulation models. Light gas and tar yields from black liquor or biomass pyrolysis can be predicted using the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model originally developed for coal. The initial approach is to measure the average chemical structures in a black liquor sample using 13C NMR spectroscopy. These chemical structures are then used in pyrolysis model predictions. With few changes from the coal-derived kinetic parameters, the model describes the organic pyrolysis behavior of black liquor samples obtained in a nitrogen-purged furnace. It …


Analysis Of Sawdust By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford Dec 2005

Analysis Of Sawdust By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford

Faculty Publications

Determining the chemical structure and composition of biomass fuels using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy XPS can provide fundamental knowledge of their structures that is useful in understanding and predicting their combustion behavior. Sawdust is an example of a forest product residue byproduct of paper and lumber production of potential interest for biomass combustion. The XPS spectra of sawdust provide both its elemental composition and indications of its bonding. Traditional fuel analyses of this fuel are also provided. These include: ultimate analysis — the elemental composition of the overall fuel C, H, N, S, and O; chlorine analysis — reported here as …


Analysis Of Grain Screenings By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford Dec 2005

Analysis Of Grain Screenings By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford

Faculty Publications

Determining the chemical structure and composition of biomass fuels using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy XPS can provide fundamental knowledge of their structures that is useful in understanding and predicting their combustion behavior. Grain screenings are an example of an agricultural residue byproduct of food and feed production of potential interest for biomass combustion. The XPS spectra of grain screenings provide both its elemental composition and indications of its bonding. Traditional fuel analyses of this fuel are also provided. These include: ultimate analysis — the elemental composition of the overall fuel C, H, N, S, and O; chlorine analysis — reported here …


Analysis Of Sugar Beet Pulp By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford Dec 2005

Analysis Of Sugar Beet Pulp By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford

Faculty Publications

Determining the chemical structure and composition of biomass fuels using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy XPS can provide fundamental knowledge of their structures that is useful in understanding and predicting their combustion behavior. Sugar beet pulp is an example of an agricultural residue byproduct of food and feed production of potential interest for biomass combustion. The XPS spectra of sugar beet pulp provide both its elemental composition and indications of its bonding. Traditional fuel analyses of this fuel are also provided. These include: ultimate analysis — the elemental composition of the overall fuel C, H, N, S, and O; chlorine analysis — …


Analysis Of Straw By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford Dec 2005

Analysis Of Straw By X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Guilin Jiang, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Larry Lin Baxter, Matthew R. Linford

Faculty Publications

Determining the chemical structure and composition of biomass fuels using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy XPS can provide fundamental knowledge of their structures that is useful in understanding and predicting their combustion behavior. Straw is an example of an agricultural residue byproduct of food and feed production of potential interest for biomass combustion. The XPS spectra of straw provide both its elemental composition and indications of its bonding. Traditional fuel analyses of this fuel are also provided. These include: ultimate analysis — the elemental composition of the overall fuel C, H, N, S, and O; chlorine analysis — reported here as part …