Piyali Das

Bio: Piyali Das is an academic researcher from Indian Institutes of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Pyrolysis & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 486 citations. Previous affiliations of Piyali Das include Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

Influence of pretreatment for deashing of sugarcane bagasse on pyrolysis products

Abstract: This paper reports the studies made on the vacuum pyrolysis of deashed sugarcane bagasse, on the pyrolysis products. The present work is with an objective to understand the change in the quantity and quality of the oil fraction obtained from pyrolysis, upon pretreatment for deashing of original biomass. Ash, in the entrained char is believed to be catalyzing the polymerization reaction in the oils and thereby increases the viscosity. Three different pre-treatment processes used for deashing are water leaching, mild acid treatment with HCl and mild acid treatment with HF.1 The study indicates the remarkable influence of pretreatment process for deashing, by enhancing the total energy distribution in oil fraction of the pyrolysis products. This is attributed to selective removal of ash elements along with removal of extractives and hemicellulose in different proportions. However, it was found that the pre-treatments do not improve the stability of oil. The water leachate, as expected, showed potential of making ethanol via fermentation.

Bio oil from pyrolysis of cashew nut shell-characterisation and related properties

Abstract: Biomass in the form of cashew nut shell represents a renewable and abundant source of energy in India. Cashew nut shell (CNS) was pyrolysed in a fixed bed pyrolysis reactor under vacuum. The CNS on heating upto 175°C produced dark brown oil (oil CO1), which was extracted, and the CNS, after the removal of oil CO1, was pyrolysed under vacuum. The pyrolysis vapours were condensed to get a combustible oil fraction (oil CO2) as well as a noncombustible aqueous fraction. The detailed chemical compositional analysis of both the oils as well as aqueous fractions were carried out by various techniques like liquid column chromatography 1 HNMR , 13 CNMR , FTIR, GC-MS. The CNS oils (CO1 and CO2) were found to be a renewable natural resource of unsaturated phenols with long linear chains and marked absence of anacardic acid. Unlike other bio oils, the CNS oils have been found to be fairly stable. The oils were completely miscible in diesel and were found to have low corrosivity towards Copper and Stainless steel, and thus promise to be a potential fuel.

Bio-oil from pyrolysis of cashew nut shell—a near fuel

Abstract: Cashew nut shell (CNS) has been studied for the product distribution in a packed bed vacuum pyrolysis unit. The effect of pyrolysis temperatures on the product yields is also studied. The oil-to-liquid ratio in the pyrolysis products was found to remain almost constant in the range between 400°C and 550°C. The properties of CNS oil has been found to be amazingly near to that of petroleum fuels with calorific value as high as 40 MJ kg −1 , the oil has a low ash content (0.01%) and water content is limited to 3– 3.5 wt % of oil.

Waste-derived biomaterials as building blocks in the biomedical field.

Abstract: Recent developments in the biomedical arena have led to the fabrication of innovative biomaterials by utilizing bioactive molecules obtained from biological wastes released from fruit and beverage processing industries, and fish, meat, and poultry industries. These biological wastes that end up in water bodies as well as in landfills are an affluent source of animal- and plant-derived proteins, bio ceramics and polysaccharides such as collagens, gelatins, chitins, chitosans, eggshell membrane proteins, hydroxyapatites, celluloses, and pectins. These bioactive molecules have been intricately designed into scaffolds and dressing materials by utilizing advanced technologies for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and wound healing relevance. These biomaterials are environment-friendly, biodegradable, and biocompatible, and show excellent tissue regeneration attributes. Additionally, being cost-effective they can reduce the burden on the healthcare system as well as provide a sustainable solution to waste management. In this review, the current trends in the utilization of plant and animal waste-derived biomaterials in various biomedical fields are considered along with a separate section on their applications as xenografts.

Biomaterial‐Based Therapeutic Approaches to Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Repair Through Macrophage Polarization

Abstract: There is an ever‐increasing clinical and socioeconomic burden associated with cartilage lesions & osteoarthritis (OA). Its progression, chondrocyte death & hypertrophy are all facilitated by inflamed synovium & joint environment. Due to their capacity to switch between pro‐ & anti‐inflammatory phenotypes, macrophages are increasingly being recognized as a key player in the healing process, which has been largely overlooked in the past. A biomaterial‘s inertness has traditionally been a goal while developing them in order to reduce the likelihood of adverse reactions from the host organism. A better knowledge of how macrophages respond to implanted materials has made it feasible to determine the biomaterial architectural parameters that control the host response & aid in effective tissue integration. Thus, this review summarizes novel therapeutic techniques for avoiding OA or increasing cartilage repair & regeneration that might be developed using new technologies tuning macrophages into desirable functional phenotypes.

Pyrolysis of Wood/Biomass for Bio-oil: A Critical Review

Abstract: Fast pyrolysis utilizes biomass to produce a product that is used both as an energy source and a feedstock for chemical production. Considerable efforts have been made to convert wood biomass to liquid fuels and chemicals since the oil crisis in mid-1970s. This review focuses on the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrolysis. Virtually any form of biomass can be considered for fast pyrolysis. Most work has been performed on wood, because of its consistency and comparability between tests. However, nearly 100 types of biomass have been tested, ranging from agricultural wastes such as straw, olive pits, and nut shells to energy crops such as miscanthus and sorghum. Forestry wastes such as bark and thinnings and other solid wastes, including sewage sludge and leather wastes, have also been studied. In this review, the main (although not exclusive) emphasis has been given to wood. The literature on woo...