Lignocellulosic Biomass Feeding in Biogas Pathway: State of the Art and Plant Layouts☆

Abstract The traditional pathway for biogas production consists in the anaerobic digestion of starchy and sugar biomass mainly from dedicated energy crops, needing agricultural land and heavy irrigation. A retrofitting of the existing biogas plants is proposed in order to reduce competition with food crops and to increase the sustainability of the whole chain in terms of land and water consumption; moreover the use of the lignocellulosic biomass is evaluated. The biomass after physical, chemical or biological pretreatment can be digested in a biogas plant to reduce the current diet without affecting the biogas production. The present study analyzes the state of the art in the lignocellulosic biomass feeding into biogas plants and describes a preliminary techno-economical study of the pathway and the layout to be adopted, including the efficiencies and energy yields of the involved processes

An Innovative Tool for Technical, Environmental and Economic Design of Building Energy Plants: A Case Study in Umbria

Abstract The European goals on environmental sustainability and carbon footprint reduction should be reached by the installation of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) plants. However, the massive development of RES plants has inevitably caused new relevant problems and critical situations due to their low energy density, their social acceptance and the non-programmability of some sources. A smart tool is proposed to evaluate the integration feasibility of different energy plants; this tool is also able to estimate the environmental impacts caused by the several proposed plants for building energy production in terms of land usage, carbon footprint and water consumption. A case study, a rural tower shaped building in Umbria, is analyzed to validate the innovative tool: environmental, energy and economic parameters are calculated to allow the designer to define the best energy plant configuration

Mass and Energy Flows of Cardoon Oil in a Prototype System for Seeds Milling and Vegetable Oil Treatment and Cogeneration

Abstract The experimentation was carried out in a prototype for the production of vegetable oil from seeds. The system consists of seeds storage, mill, filtration system, oil tanks and diesel engine for combined heat and power production. The vegetable oil tested is cardoon oil; cardoon biomass is the main topic of BIT3G project, that aims to develop biorefineries integrated in the territory through the use of biomass residues or sustainable energy crops (cardoon, black locust, miscanthus) in marginal lands. In this study the milling step was monitored in order to evaluate mass and energy flows; input biomass was separated into biomass residues and seeds, and each part was evaluated in terms of mass, moisture, low heating value. The milling products, vegetable oil and solid panel, were evaluated in terms of mass, moisture and energy content, estimating oil efficiency in the press and main characteristics. Finally an energy balance was performed monitoring the process energy consumption and energy potential using all obtained products, oil, panel and residues for power, heat and cooling purposes

architectural and energy refurbishment of the headquarter of the university of teramo

Abstract The recent seismic events, which distressed the population of the Central Italy, have caused the incompliance with national safety standards of several historical buildings. In particular, the headquarter of the University of Teramo revealed some structural damages which make necessary to operate a restoration of the buildings. It represents a rare opportunity for investigating possible applications of a cluster of technologies and approaches largely recognized as efficient and high-performing to such particular buildings in order to achieve an upgrading in terms of energy efficiency. The proposal includes the improvement of the exploitation of renewable energy sources through adequate systems, which do not modify the visual perception of the pavilions. In that regards, the required electricity could be produced by a PV roofing installed on the parking area, while a biomass boiler and an absorption chiller could allow supplying the thermal and cooling needs. Furthermore, the rain water recovery system permits to reduce the exploitation of potable water for uses which do not require a high quality, such as irrigation. On the other hand, the envelope energy efficiency could be enhanced by applying passive strategies for reducing the heat losses ( winter conditions ) and gains ( summer conditions ) through facades and roof. The results confirmed the reliability of those interventions and the consequent advantages from an economical and energy point of view

A Batch Digester Plant for Biogas Production and Energy Enhancement of Organic Residues from Collective Activities

Abstract An innovative little-sized batch biogas plant has been recently developed by the Italian Biomass Research Centre. It was fed by the residual biomass (agriculture residues and zootechnical wastes) produced by a farm located in the countryside of Perugia, Italy. The successful experience allowed the research group to design an upgrade of the existing plant, making it replicable to every communitarian activity such as Conference Halls, Schools, Condos, where organic biomass is produced as waste. Biomass recovery from markets, canteens and little food companies represents an opportunity for the installation of new residues-powered plants, achieving the production of both electricity and thermal energy for house heating and industrial processes. The collected biomass could also be integrated with pruning or residual biomass from the maintenance of the green and the neighbouring municipal wastewater from a septic tank. The simplicity, automaticity, and the cost-effectiveness of the plant, together with the incentives from electric energy injection to the grid, made the investment payable in a few years, allowing the operator to gain from renewable sources. Little sized biogas plants solves the problem of harvesting and disposal of the organic waste, reducing its transportation costs and producing green energy. The paper presents the preliminary design of the plant

Energy valorization of poultry manure in a thermal power plant: experimental campaign

Abstract According with EU Directives, waste management is a major task with respect to the industrial productive cycles. Getting energy from residues can be possible by means of several technologies, to be chosen as a function of the waste main properties. The present paper will present an example of energetic valorization of poultry manure in an innovative gasification thermal power plant (300 kWt). Such experience has been developed by CRB (Biomass Research Center – University of Perugia) during the implementation of a national funded research project. Physical and chemical characterization of the litter will be shown, together with both the monitoring of the demo plant performances and the relevant features of the exhaust gases at the chimney

Lignin as co-product of second generation bioethanol production from ligno-cellulosic biomass

Abstract To improve the economic viability of the biofuel production from biomass, it is of increasing importance to add value to the lignin produced as a bio-residue. Moreover, to meet the goal to replace 30% of fossil fuel by biofuels by 2030, a huge amount of lignin will soon be produced. The first major step involved to add value to the unconverted lignin is its separation from other biomass constituents to give high purity lignin. In this current work, extraction of lignin from a bio-residue (containing ca. 40% lignin) from second generation bioethanol production is presented. The biomass chosen is Arundo donax L. (or giant reed), which is non-food plant, can tolerate a wide variety of ecological conditions with all types of soils, and has increasingly importance as raw material for industrial purposes as a source of fibers alternative to wood, which availability is decreasing. Slightly different extraction procedures are investigated. Methods used are simple, mild, safe, and avoid destruction of fiber content in the bio- residue, with the final aim to valorize all fractions of the bio-residue, which is an essential step to make biofuel production to be cost effective. Lignins extracted are characterized by morphological analysis, using Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM, and in terms of thermal behavior -using thermo gravimetric analysis TGA- which is critical for determining suitability of the lignin for polymer composite preparation with improved thermomechanical performance. The method judged as the best of the three leads rapidly to extraction of lignin free from fibers and ash, with thermal behavior suitable for composite preparation

driftwood biomass in italy estimation and characterization

In Italy, the accumulation of driftwood along the shore is a significant issue, especially for the coastal municipalities of the Central and Northern regions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution and availability of the coastal driftwood in Italy and its impacts, as well as analyzing its chemical–physical properties to evaluate possible employment in combustion applications. On the basis of a data gathering campaign for the period 2010–2014, about 60,000 tons of driftwood are reported to accumulate along the Italian shores every year. The two regions hardest-hit were Liguria and Veneto, with about 15,000 tons and 12,000 tons, respectively. Three sites were selected for driftwood sampling. The main issue deriving from chemical characterization was the high chlorine content (up to 2% on dry basis) and metal oxides in the ashes. Driftwood samples were then subjected to a natural washing cycle for 1 month; results revealed a significant drop in chlorine and metal oxides contents (up to 80%) and a low decrease of the lower heating value (about 20%). Furthermore, the percolated water was analyzed in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), showing values (up to 1100 mg O 2 /L) above the Italian limits for discharges into surface waters

Sustainable New Brick and Thermo-Acoustic Insulation Panel from Mineralization of Stranded Driftwood Residues

There is considerable interest recently in by-products for application in green buildings. These materials are widely used as building envelope insulators or blocks. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to test stranded driftwood residues as raw material for possible thermo-acoustic insulation panel and environmentally sustainable brick. The thermal and acoustic characteristics of such a natural by-product were examined. Part of samples were mineralized by means of cement-based additive to reinforce the material and enhance its durability as well as fire resistance. Several mixtures with different sizes of ground wood chips and different quantities of cement were investigated. The thermo-acoustic in-lab characterization was aimed at investigating the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric specific heat, and acoustic transmission loss. All samples were tested before and after mineralization. Results from this study indicate that it is possible to use stranded driftwood residues as building materials with competitive thermo-acoustic properties. In fact, the thermal conductivity was shown to be always around 0.07 W/mK in the unbound samples, and around double that value for the mineralized samples, which present a much higher volumetric specific heat (1.6 MJ/m3K) and transmission loss capability. The lignin powder showed a sort of intermediate behavior between the unbound and the mineralized samples.The authors would like to thank Gabriele Franceschetti and CVR s.r.l. for assisting the mineralization procedure of the samples. Anna Laura Pisello’s acknowledgments are due to the “CIRIAF program for UNESCO” in the framework of the UNESCO Chair “Water Resources Management and Culture”, for supporting her research. The research was founded by the Italian Environmental Ministry with an agreement entitled “Recovery and energy valorization of stranded driftwood residues” in 2014–2016. The research team leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 657466 (INPATH–TES) and No. 678407 (ZERO-PLUS)

Energy Opportunities from Lignocellulosic Biomass for a Biorefinery Case Study

This work presents some energy considerations concerning a biorefinery case study that has been carried out by the CRB/CIRIAF of the University of Perugia. The biorefinery is the case study of the BIT3G project, a national funded research project, and it uses the lignocellulosic biomass that is available in the territory as input materials for biochemical purposes, such as cardoon and carthamus. The whole plant is composed of several sections: the cardoon and carthamus seed milling, the oil refinement facilities, and the production section of some high quality biochemicals, i.e., bio-oils and fatty acids. The main goal of the research is to demonstrate energy autonomy of the latter section of the biorefinery, while only recovering energy from the residues resulting from the collection of the biomass. To this aim, this work presents the quantification of the energy requirements to be supplied to the considered biorefinery section, the mass flow, and the energy and chemical characterization of the biomass. Afterwards, some sustainability strategies have been qualitatively investigated in order to identify the best one to be used in this case study; the combined heat and power (CHP) technology. Two scenarios have been defined and presented: the first with 6 MWt thermal input and 1.2 MWe electrical power as an output and the second with 9 MWt thermal input and 1.8 MWe electrical power as an output. The first scenario showed that 11,000 tons of residual biomass could ensure the annual production of about 34,000 MWht, equal to about the 72% of the requirements, and about 9600 MWhe, equal to approximately 60% of the electricity demand. The second scenario showed that 18,000 tons of the residual biomass could ensure the total annual production of about 56,000 MWht, corresponding to more than 100% of the requirements, and about 14,400 MWhe, equal to approximately 90% of the electricity demand. In addition, the CO2 emissions from the energy valorization section have been quantified and the possibility of re-using the CO2 flow in order to produce methane is described