Size Reduction of Cellulosic Biomass in Biofuel Manufacturing: Effects of Milling Orientation on Sugar Yield

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
P. F. Zhang ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Metal Cutting ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Poplar Wood ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuels ◽  
First Time

Cellulosic biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. In order to convert cellulosic biomass into biofuels, size reduction of biomass is a necessary step. Most related studies in the literature claimed that smaller particles produced higher sugar yields. However, some researchers reported that this claim was not always true. The literature does not have satisfactory explanations for the inconsistence. This paper presents an experimental study on size reduction of poplar wood using a metal cutting process (milling). The results provided one explanation for this inconsistence. It was found for the first time that milling orientation had a strong effect on poplar wood sugar yield. Although smaller poplar particles had a higher sugar yield when they were milled from the same orientation, this trend did not exist for particles milled from different orientations.

Size Reduction of Cellulosic Biomass in Biofuel Manufacturing: Separating the Confounding Effects of Particle Size and Biomass Crystallinity

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
Pengfei Zhang ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
T. W. Deines ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Metal Cutting ◽  
Milling Process ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Transportation Fuels ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuel ◽  
Reduction Methods

Increasing demands and concerns for reliable supply of liquid transportation fuels make it important to find alternative sources to petroleum-based fuels. Cellulosic biofuels provide one such alternative in the short to medium term. Size reduction is the first step for converting biomass into biofuels. In the literature, there are inconsistent reports about the effects of particle size and biomass crystallinity on sugar yield (proportional to biofuel yield). An important reason for this inconsistence is that particle formation in current size reduction methods is not well controlled, causing the effects of these two variables confounded. One paper investigating the confounding effects of particle size and biomass crystallinity using a metal-cutting (milling) process was previously published in this journal. This paper presents a follow-up study. In this study, a lathe was used to produce poplar wood particles with the same crystallinity but different sizes, making it possible to study the effects of particle size on biofuel yield independently without being confounded by the effects of biomass crystallinity. Results showed that, for the three levels of particle size used in this study, sugar yield increased as particle size became smaller. This study also revealed future research opportunities to understand the effects of size reduction and biomass crystallinity in cellulosic biofuel manufacturing.

Effects of Water Soaking on Biomass Particle Size in Cellulosic Biofuel Manufacturing

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hera Wu ◽  
Pengfei Zhang ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Z. J. Pei
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Particle Sizes ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuels ◽  
Transportation Fuels ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuel ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Invasive Method ◽  
Biomass Particle Size

Cellulosic biofuels are an alternative to petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels. However, manufacturing costs of cellulosic biofuels are high partially due to low density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass. Previous studies show that UV-A pelleting can increase the density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass. A hypothesis for UV-A pelleting to increase the density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass is that UV-A pelleting can reduce biomass particle size. To test this hypothesis, biomass particle sizes before and after UV-A pelleting need to be compared. Soaking pellets in water is an efficient and non-invasive method to separate pellets into particles. However, water soaking itself might change biomass particle size. This paper reports an investigation on effects of water soaking on biomass particle size. The biomass particle sizes before and after water soaking are measured and compared. Results show that effects of water soaking on biomass particle size are dependent on the initial particle size (particle size before water soaking) and time period of water soaking.

scholarly journals SIZE REDUCTION OF POPLAR WOOD USING A LATHE FOR BIOFUEL MANUFACTURING: EFFECTS OF BIOMASS CRYSTALLINITY ON SUGAR YIELD

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
T. W. Deines ◽  
Donghai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Poplar Wood

Effects of cutting orientation in poplar wood biomass size reduction on enzymatic hydrolysis sugar yield

2015 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 407-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaohui Ju ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
Xiao Zhang ◽  
Z.J. Pei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Hydrolysis ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Poplar Wood ◽  
Wood Biomass

scholarly journals Biofuel Manufacturing from Woody Biomass: Effects of Sieve Size Used in Biomass Size Reduction

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
T. W. Deines ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
Donghai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Particle Sizes ◽  
Poplar Wood ◽  
Sieve Size ◽  
Hydrolysis Process ◽  
Milling Machines ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Size reduction is the first step for manufacturing biofuels from woody biomass. It is usually performed using milling machines and the particle size is controlled by the size of the sieve installed on a milling machine. There are reported studies about the effects of sieve size on energy consumption in milling of woody biomass. These studies show that energy consumption increased dramatically as sieve size became smaller. However, in these studies, the sugar yield (proportional to biofuel yield) in hydrolysis of the milled woody biomass was not measured. The lack of comprehensive studies about the effects of sieve size on energy consumption in biomass milling and sugar yield in hydrolysis process makes it difficult to decide which sieve size should be selected in order to minimize the energy consumption in size reduction and maximize the sugar yield in hydrolysis. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap in the literature. In this paper, knife milling of poplar wood was conducted using sieves of three sizes (1, 2, and 4 mm). Results show that, as sieve size increased, energy consumption in knife milling decreased and sugar yield in hydrolysis increased in the tested range of particle sizes.

An Experimental Study on Temperature in Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Pelleting of Cellulosic Biomass

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Feng ◽  
W. L. Cong ◽  
M. Zhang ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
C. Z. Ren
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Ultrasonic Vibration ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Ultrasonic Power ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuels ◽  
Transportation Fuel

As one of the near-to-mid-term alternatives to fossil fuels, cellulosic biofuels can cut greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to meet liquid transportation fuel needs. By processing cellulosic biomass into pellets, density and handling efficiency of cellulosic feedstocks will be improved, resulting in a reduction in transportation and handling costs in biofuel manufacturing. Temperature of biomass during the pelleting process can affect the quality of the pellet. But effects of pelleting variables on biomass temperature during ultrasonic vibration-assisted (UV-A) pelleting are still unknown. This paper reports an experimental investigation on temperature of biomass in UV-A pelleting. It studies the effects of moisture content of the biomass and pelleting variables (ultrasonic power, tool travel distance, and feedrate). The results will be helpful in understanding the effects of ultrasonic vibration on biomass temperature, compaction mechanism, and biofuel conversion.

Size Reduction of Cellulosic Biomass in Biofuel Manufacturing: A Study on Confounding Effects of Particle Size and Biomass Crystallinity

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
Pengfei Zhang ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
T. W. Deines ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metal Cutting ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Milling Process ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Multiple Parameters ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuel ◽  
Reduction Methods

Biofuels derived from cellulosic biomass offer an alternative to petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels. In order to convert cellulosic biomass into biofuels, size reduction is a necessary step along with pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation. In the literature, there are inconsistent reports about why size reduction affects sugar yield (proportional to biofuel yield). An important reason for the inconsistence is that particle formation in current size reduction methods is not well controlled, causing effects of some biomass structural parameters confounded. In this study, a metal-cutting (milling) process is used for size reduction of poplar wood, where particle formation can be well controlled to prevent the effects of multiple parameters from being confounded. The results of this study provide explanations for some inconsistent reports in the literature. These results also reveal some opportunities for future research to understand the effects of size reduction on cellulosic biofuel manufacturing.

Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Pelleting of Sorghum Stalks: Effects of Pressure and Ultrasonic Power

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang ◽  
P. F. Zhang ◽  
Timothy Deines ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
Donghai Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Hydrolysis ◽  
Ultrasonic Vibration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Cellulosic Biomass ◽  
Ultrasonic Power ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuels ◽  
Transportation Fuels ◽  
Low Efficiency

Cellulosic biofuels can be used to replace traditional liquid transportation fuels. Cellulosic biomass is feedstock in manufacturing of cellulosic biofuels. However, the low density of cellulosic biomass feedstock hinders large-scale and cost-effective manufacturing of cellulosic biofuels. Another bottleneck factor in manufacturing of cellulosic biofuels is the low efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass materials resulting in a low sugar yield. Ultrasonic vibration-assisted (UV-A) pelleting can increase the density of cellulosic biomass feedstocks via combined effects of mechanical compression and ultrasonic vibration of the tool on the cellulosic biomass. Meanwhile ultrasonic vibration may act as a beneficial pretreatment for enzymatic hydrolysis, which can possibly increase the efficiency of hydrolysis and obtain a higher sugar yield. The pressure and the ultrasonic power are important parameters in UV-A pelleting. Their effects on pellet quality (density, durability, and stability) and sugar yield (after hydrolysis) are experimentally investigated.

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