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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Algal Biofilm Production And Harvesting System For Wastewater Treatment With Biofuels By-Products, Logan Christenson
Algal Biofilm Production And Harvesting System For Wastewater Treatment With Biofuels By-Products, Logan Christenson
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus in discharged wastewaters can lead to downstream eutrophication, ecosystem damage, and impaired water quality that may affect human health. Chemical-based and physical-based technologies are available to remove these nutrients; however, they often consume significant amounts of energy and chemicals, greatly increasing treatment costs. Algae are capable of removing these pollutants through biomass assimilation, and if harvested, can be utilized as a feedstock for biomethane or biodiesel production. Currently, difficulties in harvesting, concentrating, and dewatering algae have limited the development of an economically feasible treatment and production process. When algae are grown as surface-attached biofilms, the biomass …
Characterization And Genetic Analysis Of The Cellulolytic Microorganism Thermobifida Fusca, Yu Deng
Characterization And Genetic Analysis Of The Cellulolytic Microorganism Thermobifida Fusca, Yu Deng
Theses and Dissertations
Currently, one of the hurdles hindering efficient production of cellulosic biofuel is the recalcitrant nature of cellulose to hydrolysis. A wide variety of cellulase enzymes are found natively in microorganisms that can potentially be used to effectively hydrolyze cellulose to fermentable sugars. Thermobifida fusca is a high G-C content, thermophilic, gram-positive soil actinobacterium with high cellulolytic activity. The phenomenological and mechanistic parameters affecting cellulase activity were studied in T. fusca and two mechanisms have been found: 1) transcriptions of cellulase-related genes were not closely associated with measured differences in cellulase activity and 2) cellular energetics (intracellular ATP) correlated more closely …
The Optimum Energy Crop In Ireland For Biofuel, Eoin Deasy
The Optimum Energy Crop In Ireland For Biofuel, Eoin Deasy
Theses
The motivation for this research stems from the potential of biofuels to assist Ireland in meeting obligations outlined in the 'Renewable Energy Source Directive' (2009/28/EC) and to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. The purpose of this work is to establish the merits of biofuel production Ireland ,with a keen focus on the technical, economic and environmental aspects of each. The three biofuel options investigated are biodiesel, bioethanol and biomethane. Eight crop varieties were investigated, these include; wheat, oats, barley, OSR, maize silage, sugar beet, grass silage and potatoes. The approach taken within this thesis was to perform a life cycle …