There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

1.0. Introduction 4044 2.0. Biomass Chemistry and Growth Rates 4047 2.1. Lignocellulose and Starch-Based Plants 4047 2.2. Triglyceride-Producing Plants 4049 2.3. Algae 4050 2.4. Terpenes and Rubber-Producing Plants 4052 3.0. Biomass Gasification 4052 3.1. Gasification Chemistry 4052 3.2. Gasification Reactors 4054 3.3. Supercritical Gasification 4054 3.4. Solar Gasification 4055 3.5. Gas Conditioning 4055 4.0. Syn-Gas Utilization 4056 4.1. Hydrogen Production by Water−Gas Shift Reaction 4056

/pdf/synthesis-of-transportation-fuels-from-biomass-chemistry-3sckhzoqoz.pdf

Synthesis of transportation fuels from biomass: chemistry, catalysts, and engineering.

Sustainable production of renewable energy is being hotly debated globally since it is increasingly understood that first generation biofuels, primarily produced from food crops and mostly oil seeds are limited in their ability to achieve targets for biofuel production, climate change mitigation and economic growth. These concerns have increased the interest in developing second generation biofuels produced from non-food feedstocks such as microalgae, which potentially offer greatest opportunities in the longer term. This paper reviews the current status of microalgae use for biodiesel production, including their cultivation, harvesting, and processing. The microalgae species most used for biodiesel production are presented and their main advantages described in comparison with other available biodiesel feedstocks. The various aspects associated with the design of microalgae production units are described, giving an overview of the current state of development of algae cultivation systems (photo-bioreactors and open ponds). Other potential applications and products from microalgae are also presented such as for biological sequestration of CO 2 , wastewater treatment, in human health, as food additive, and for aquaculture.

/pdf/microalgae-for-biodiesel-production-and-other-applications-a-54vmwufrsu.pdf

Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review

Biomass is an important feedstock for the renewable production of fuels, chemicals, and energy. As of 2005, over 3% of the total energy consumption in the United States was supplied by biomass, and it recently surpassed hydroelectric energy as the largest domestic source of renewable energy. Similarly, the European Union received 66.1% of its renewable energy from biomass, which thus surpassed the total combined contribution from hydropower, wind power, geothermal energy, and solar power. In addition to energy, the production of chemicals from biomass is also essential; indeed, the only renewable source of liquid transportation fuels is currently obtained from biomass.

The Catalytic Valorization of Lignin for the Production of Renewable Chemicals

Biofuels produced from various lignocellulosic materials, such as wood, agricultural, or forest residues, have the potential to be a valuable substitute for, or complement to, gasoline. Many physicochemical structural and compositional factors hinder the hydrolysis of cellulose present in biomass to sugars and other organic compounds that can later be converted to fuels. The goal of pretreatment is to make the cellulose accessible to hydrolysis for conversion to fuels. Various pretreatment techniques change the physical and chemical structure of the lignocellulosic biomass and improve hydrolysis rates. During the past few years a large number of pretreatment methods have been developed, including alkali treatment, ammonia explosion, and others. Many methods have been shown to result in high sugar yields, above 90% of the theoretical yield for lignocellulosic biomasses such as woods, grasses, corn, and so on. In this review, we discuss the various pretreatment process methods and the recent literature that...

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-1388.pdf

Methods for Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Efficient Hydrolysis and Biofuel Production

The effect of pressure as described by density was studied on organic acid production from Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) treated in supercritical water. At a reaction temperature of 380°C, the maximum yield of organic acids was 35% at a pressure of 30 MPa (density of water: 0.53 g/ml) for 1 min in a batch-type system. Furthermore, the yield of organic acids decreased with increasing reaction pressure. It was also found that fragmented products from sugars such as methylglyoxal and glycolaldehyde could be more easily converted to organic acids than dehydrated products such as furfural and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural. This result suggests that organic acids can be mainly derived from fragmented products.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10086-008-1015-z.pdf

Effect of pressure on organic acid production from Japanese beech treated in supercritical water

Renewable gasoline production from oleic acid by oxidative cleavage followed by decarboxylation

Reactivity of cellulose reducing end in pyrolysis as studied by methyl glucoside-impregnation.

In order to elucidate the decomposition behavior of lignin from Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) as treated by two-step semi-flow hot-compressed water (1st stage: 230 °C/10 MPa/15 min, 2nd stage: 270 °C/10 MPa/15 min), water-soluble portion, precipitate, and water-insoluble residue obtained by hot-compressed water treatment were separated and characterized. Consequently, the water-soluble portion was found to contain lignin-derived monomeric compounds such as coniferyl alcohol and coniferyl aldehyde and β-1, β-5, and 5-5′ linked dimeric compounds. These lignin-derived compounds maintained methoxyl and phenolic hydroxyl groups in aromatic rings. The water-soluble portion also contained lignin-derived oligomeric compounds up to heptamers. In contrast, the precipitate was found out to consist of higher molecular weight lignin with high ether type linkages. The water-insoluble residue, however, consisted mostly of lignin with high condensed type linkages. Based on these lines of evidence, condensed type lignin must be resistant to hot-compressed water and remain as water-insoluble residue after two-step treatment. Such information provides a clue as to efficient utilization of lignin-derived products.

/pdf/characterization-of-lignin-derived-products-from-japanese-1b9fg2ffy7.pdf

Shiro Saka

Papers

Effect of pressure on organic acid production from Japanese beech treated in supercritical water

Renewable gasoline production from oleic acid by oxidative cleavage followed by decarboxylation

Reactivity of cellulose reducing end in pyrolysis as studied by methyl glucoside-impregnation.

Characterization of lignin-derived products from Japanese cedar as treated by semi-flow hot-compressed water

Complete inhibition of char formation from cellulose in fast pyrolysis with aromatic substance