and from sugar crops like sugar cane and sugar beet.
The development of lignocellulosic technology has meant that not only high energy content starch and sugar crops can be used but also woody biomass or waste residues from forestry. This process requires an additional pretreatment process of pulping and enzymes to break down the organic compounds.
Additional steps that may be taken in a biorefinery include the drying and pelletization of bagasse (the waste component of sugar cane after juice extraction) to produce a secondary product along with ethanol, which makes the plant more economically feasible. In addition to the production of fuel pellets, one can also produce feed for animals, which could be used locally thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions from associated transport energy spent.
See also: Alcohols, Bioethanol.
Bioethers
Ethers are a class of carbon compounds that contain an ether group (C-O-C) in which either carbon may be attached to other carbon atoms as well (such as the commonly-used diethyl ether, CH3CH2OCH2CH3). The most commonly used fuel additive ethers are methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE) and ethyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (ETBE).
Bioethers (Table B-8) are produced by the reaction of reactive iso-olefin derivatives, such as iso-butylene, with bioethanol, which is ethanol produced from bio-sources.
Table B-8 Examples of bioether derivatives used in fuels.
| Ether | Use in fuels |
|---|---|
| Dimethyl ether (DME) | Alternative fuel for gasoline engines |
| Diethyl ether (DEE): | Used as an ignition improver for gasoline |
| Possible alternative fuel for gasoline engines | |
| Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE): | Additive for gasoline |
| Ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE): | Additive for gasoline |
| Tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME): | Additive for gasoline |
| Tert-amyl ethyl ether (TAEE): | Additive for gasoline |
| Increases the solubility of ethanol in diesel |
When added to gasoline, a bioether can make the gasoline burn cleanly and completely and enhance engine performance, while reducing engine wear and toxic exhaust emissions, as well as the amount of ground-level ozone.
Biofiltration
Traditional gas cleaning and air pollution control technologies for pollutant gases, such as adsorption, absorption, and combustion, were developed to treat high concentration waste gas streams associated with process emissions from stationary point sources. Although these technologies rely on established physico-chemical principles to achieve effective control of gaseous pollutants, in many cases, the control technique yields products which require further treatment before disposal or recycling of treatment materials. In the case of treatment of dilute waste gas streams, however, these traditional methods are relatively less effective, more expensive, and wasteful in terms of energy consumption and identification of alternative control measures is warranted. A suitable alternate air pollution control technology is biofiltration, which utilizes naturally occurring microorganisms supported on a stationary bed (filter) to continuously treat contaminants in a flowing waste gas stream.
Biofiltration by definition is the aerobic degradation of pollutants from (in the current context) a gas stream in the presence of a carrier media. The early development work on biofiltration technology concentrated on organic media, such as, peat, compost, and wood bark. In general terms, organic compounds are degraded to carbon dioxide and water, while inorganic compounds, such as sulfur compounds, are oxidized to form oxygenated derivatives. The formation of these acidic compounds can lead to a lowering of pH of the filtration media which in turn impacts on the performance of the system. Removal of the oxidized compound from the media is an important consideration in the design of biofiltration systems. Biofiltration, like many processes based on bio-treatment in the crude oil refining and gas processing industries, is successfully emerging as a reliable, low-cost option for a broad range of air treatment applications. It is now becoming apparent that biological treatment will play a far more significant role in achieving environmental control on air emissions.
In the biofiltration process, three types of bioreactor designs are usually considered: the biofilter, (ii) the biotrickling filter, and (iii) the bioscrubber. The main differences between these systems concern their design and mode of operation: microorganism conditioning, the nature of the fluid phase (gas or liquid), and the presence or absence of stationary solid phases. Nevertheless, gas stream desulfurization has been carried out by the biotrickling filter and the bioscrubber.
The biofilter is a pollution control technique which involves using a bioreactor that contains living material to capture and biologically degrade pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide. Common uses include processing wastewater, capturing harmful chemicals or silt from surface runoff, and the macrobiotic oxidation of contaminants in gas streams. The technology finds greatest application in treating malodorous compounds and water-soluble volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Compounds treated are typically mixed VOCs and various sulfur compounds, including hydrogen sulfide. Large airflows may be treated, although a large area (footprint) has typically been required. Engineered biofilters, designed and built since the early 1990s, have provided significant footprint reductions over the conventional flat-bed, organic media type.
In the process, the polluted gas flow is purified with biofiltration by conducting the gas flow upward through a filter bed, which consists of biological material, e.g., compost, tree bark, or peat. The filter material is a carrier of a thin water film in which microorganisms live. The pollutants in the gas flow is held back by adsorption and/or absorption on the filter material, and then decomposed by present microorganisms. The filter material serves as a supplier of necessary nutrients. The products of the conversion are carbon dioxide, sulfate, and nitrate. The dry weight of the filter varies typically from 40 to 60 %. To reduce desiccation of the bed, the gas flow must be saturated with water. For this reason, polluted gas flow is moistened before it goes through the biofilter, which is achieved by using a pre-scrubber. The relative humidity of the gas must be 95%. In practice, it is always better to apply a moistener to protect the biofilter against dehydration.
A biotrickling filter is a packed bed bioreactor with immobilized biomass. The gas flows through a fixed bed coor counter-currently to a mobile liquid phase. Synthetic carriers are usually used and these include plastic, ceramic, lava rocks, polyurethane foam, etc. The synthetic carrier does not provide any nutrients, so the liquid mobile phase must contain nutrients for the growth and maintenance of the biomass. Programmed or continuous discharge of recirculation medium helps to remove the oxidation products. The hydrogen sulfide must be transferred from the gas to liquid phase, and the degradation is finally carried out in the biofilm.
According to the microbial cycling of sulfur, the
