scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

An overview of the chemical composition of biomass

01 May 2010-Fuel (Elsevier)-Vol. 89, Iss: 5, pp 913-933
TL;DR: An extended overview of the chemical composition of biomass was conducted in this article, where reference peer-reviewed data for chemical composition was used to describe the biomass system, including traditional and complete proximate, ultimate and ash analyses.
About: This article is published in Fuel.The article was published on 2010-05-01. It has received 1792 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Biomass & Chemical composition.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The notion of sustainability is introduced through discussion of the energy and environmental costs of state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, considering elemental abundance, toxicity, synthetic methods and scalability.
Abstract: Energy storage using batteries offers a solution to the intermittent nature of energy production from renewable sources; however, such technology must be sustainable. This Review discusses battery development from a sustainability perspective, considering the energy and environmental costs of state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries and the design of new systems beyond Li-ion. Images: batteries, car, globe: © iStock/Thinkstock.

5,271 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A broad review of the state-of-the-art biomass pyrolysis research can be found in this article, where three major components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) are discussed in detail.

1,613 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, several aspects which are associated with burning biomass in boilers have been investigated such as composition of biomass, estimating the higher heating value of biomass and comparison between biomass and other fuels.
Abstract: Currently, fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas represent the prime energy sources in the world. However, it is anticipated that these sources of energy will deplete within the next 40–50 years. Moreover, the expected environmental damages such as the global warming, acid rain and urban smog due to the production of emissions from these sources have tempted the world to try to reduce carbon emissions by 80% and shift towards utilizing a variety of renewable energy resources (RES) which are less environmentally harmful such as solar, wind, biomass etc. in a sustainable way. Biomass is one of the earliest sources of energy with very specific properties. In this review, several aspects which are associated with burning biomass in boilers have been investigated such as composition of biomass, estimating the higher heating value of biomass, comparison between biomass and other fuels, combustion of biomass, co-firing of biomass and coal, impacts of biomass, economic and social analysis of biomass, transportation of biomass, densification of biomass, problems of biomass and future of biomass. It has been found that utilizing biomass in boilers offers many economical, social and environmental benefits such as financial net saving, conservation of fossil fuel resources, job opportunities creation and CO 2 and NO x emissions reduction. However, care should be taken to other environmental impacts of biomass such as land and water resources, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and deforestation. Fouling, marketing, low heating value, storage and collections and handling are all associated problems when burning biomass in boilers. The future of biomass in boilers depends upon the development of the markets for fossil fuels and on policy decisions regarding the biomass market.

1,293 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of pyrolysis process parameters on the production of biochar through biochar of biomass is discussed and a comparison between the existing techniques is established in the present work.
Abstract: Biomass is considered to have potential to be used as an alternative energy source. High carbon content present in biomass converts it into high energy biochar on thermochemical treatment. Among few well established thermochemical technologies for the treatment of biomass and biogenic waste to produce high energy char along with oil and gaseous yield, pyrolysis is the most studied and discussed technique in the recent past. A comparison between the existing techniques is established in the present work. Production of char from the biomass and biogenic wastes is reviewed and it was found that yield of the biochar depends upon the biomass composition like moisture content and presence of cellulose or lignin. Pyrolysis product distribution and their quality strongly depend upon the process parameters. Different biomasses which can be used as raw material in pyrolysis are also reviewed and categorized depending upon their source. Pyrolysis process parameters such as temperature, heating rate, residence time etc. also influence the biochar yield. This study discusses the effect of these process parameters on the production of biochar through pyrolysis of biomass.

944 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent advances and developments in catalytic transformations of the carbohydrate content of lignocellulosic biomass to IPCs (i.e., ethanol, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, isoprene, succinic and levulinic acids, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) are overviewed.
Abstract: The replacement of fossil resources that currently provide more than 90% of our energy needs and feedstocks of the chemical industry in combination with reduced emission of carbon dioxide is one of the most pressing challenges of mankind. Biomass as a globally available resource has been proposed as an alternative feedstock for production of basic building blocks, which could partially or even fully replace the currently utilized fossil-based ones in well-established chemical processes. The destruction of lignocellulosic feed followed by oxygen removal from its cellulose and hemicellulose content by catalytic processes results in the formation of initial platform chemicals (IPCs). However, their sustainable production strongly depends on the availability of resources, their efficient or even industrially viable conversion processes, and replenishment time of feedstocks. Herein, we overview recent advances and developments in catalytic transformations of the carbohydrate content of lignocellulosic biomass ...

784 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrotechnics, can be found in this paper.
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...

4,988 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The potential of a restored landfill site to act as a biomass source, providing fuel to supplement landfill gas-fuelled power stations, is examined, together with a comparison of the economics of power production from purpose-grown biomass versus waste-biomass.

4,162 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the properties of biomass relevant to combustion is briefly reviewed and the compositions of biomass among fuel types are variable, especially with respect to inorganic constituents important to the critical problems of fouling and slagging.

1,764 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the structural, proximate and ultimate analyses of biomass and wastes differ considerably, some properties of the biomass samples such as the hydrogen content, the sulfur content and the ignition temperatures changed in a narrow interval.

1,403 citations

Book
01 Jan 1975
TL;DR: The origin of coal, its petrographic constitution, changes in the macerals during coalification, techniques of coal petrology and their application to problems of palaeobotany, geology, oil and gas prospecting, coal assessment, coal evaluation, and fuel technology are discussed in this article.
Abstract: This book includes the origin of coal, its petrographic constitution, changes in the macerals during coalification, techniques of coal petrology and their application to problems of palaeobotany, geology, oil and gas prospecting, coal assessment, coal evaluation, and fuel technology. This is the Third Edition of this textbook. (DP)

1,327 citations