Biorefining of wheat straw:accounting for the distribution of mineral elements in pretreated biomass by an extended pretreatment–severity equation

BACKGROUND: Mineral elements present in lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks may accumulate in biorefinery process streams and cause technological problems, or alternatively can be reaped for value addition. A better understanding of the distribution of minerals in biomass in response to pretreatment factors is therefore important in relation to development of new biorefinery processes. The objective of the present study was to examine the levels of mineral elements in pretreated wheat straw in response to systematic variations in the hydrothermal pretreatment parameters (pH, temperature, and treatment time), and to assess whether it is possible to model mineral levels in the pretreated fiber fraction. RESULTS: Principal component analysis of the wheat straw biomass constituents, including mineral elements, showed that the recovered levels of wheat straw constituents after different hydrothermal pretreatments could be divided into two groups: 1) Phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and calcium correlated with xylose and arabinose (that is, hemicellulose), and levels of these constituents present in the fiber fraction after pretreatment varied depending on the pretreatment-severity; and 2) Silicon, iron, copper, aluminum correlated with lignin and cellulose levels, but the levels of these constituents showed no severity-dependent trends. For the first group, an expanded pretreatment-severity equation, containing a specific factor for each constituent, accounting for variability due to pretreatment pH, was developed. Using this equation, the mineral levels could be predicted with R(2) > 0.75; for some with R(2) up to 0.96. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment conditions, especially pH, significantly influenced the levels of phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and calcium in the resulting fiber fractions. A new expanded pretreatment-severity equation is proposed to model and predict mineral composition in pretreated wheat straw biomass

Minskade askrelaterade driftsproblem via torv i biobränslen

Godkänd; 2007; 20080101 (ohmmar

Slag formation during combustion of biomass fuels with low phosphorus content

Slag and ash deposition problems have more than occasionally been observed in biomass fueled plants in general and especially in pellet fired plants. These problems can lead to reduced accessibility as well as performance of the combustion appliances. Slag formation including ash transformation mechanisms, measures for prevention and prediction during combustion of biomass fuels has been studied by the research groups at Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University and Energy Technology Center for over one decade now. Several (about 40) different biomass fuels/fuel mixtures have been studied and many different fuel additives/co-combustion fuels have been used to combat slag formation. About 20 scientific papers and 10 technical reports have been published by the research groups within the topic of slag formation during combustion of biomass fuels with low phosphorus content. The objective of the present work was to summarize the general experiences and conclusions of our research within the area of slag formation during combustion of fuels with low phosphorus and varying silicon content. Silicon rich fuels, i.e. fuel ash dominated by silicate-alkali chemistry (e.g. straw fuels), generally shows relatively high slagging tendencies. Exceptions to these general trends exists i.e. fuels with very high Si/K-ratios. Wood derived fuels with a relatively low inherent silicon content shows low or relatively moderate slagging tendencies. However, severe contamination of sand material to woody biomass fuels may greatly enhance the slagging tendencies. Fuel additive addition to problematic woody biomass and straw significantly reduces the slagging tendencies. When adding limestone and kaolin to the problematic wood and straw fuels the composition of the formed slag is changed from relatively low temperature melting silicates to high temperature melting silicates and oxides. The standard ash fusion tests and chemical equilibrium calculations gives useful qualitatively information of the slagging tendencies. However, both methods must be further improved before quantitatively results can be used. The use of different fuel indexes to predict the slagging tendencies could be an interesting option. More research within this field is, however, needed.Godkänd; 2011; 20111019 (ohmmar)</p

Reduced ash related operational problems(slagging, bed agglomeration, corrosion andfouling) by co-combustion biomass with peat

Projektet behandlar effekter av torvinblandning i problematiska biobränslen (grot, salix, halm) med avseende på uppkomsten av askrelaterade driftsproblem (beläggning, slaggning, högtemperatur-korrosion och bäddagglomerering). Studien visar att inblandning av torv i de problematiska biobränslen som studerats ger tydligt positiva effekter vad avser bäddagglomerering och beläggningsbildning/korrosion i pannans konvektionsdelar redan vid relativt låga inblandningsgrader (15-20 vikts-%) i salix och grot, samt vid inblandningsgrader upp mot 40 vikts-% i halm. Resultaten indikerar dock även att vissa torvslag i vissa bränslesammansättningar ger upphov till ökade slaggningstendenser på brännarrosters. De bakomliggande askkemiska och processmässiga mekanismerna till de observerade effekterna diskuteras i rapporten.Upprättat; 2006; 20070816 (ysko

Slag formation during combustion of biomass fuels

Slag and ash deposition problems have more than occasionally been observed in biomass fueled plants in general and especially in pellet fired plants. These problems could lead to reduced accessibility as well as performance of the combustion appliances. Slag formation including measures for prevention and prediction during combustion of biomass fuels has been studied by the research groups at Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University, Energy Technology Center and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences for about one decade know. Several (about 40) different biomass fuels/fuel mixtures have been studies and many different fuel additives/co-combustion fuels have been used to combat slag formation. About 25 scientific papers and 10 technical reports have been published by the research groups within the topic of slag formation during combustion of biomass fuels. The general experiences and conclusions of our research within the area will be presented.Godkänd; 2009; 20090822 (ohmmar

Engagement in Care and Housing Instability Influence HIV Screening Among Transgender Individuals in South Florida

Purpose: HIV screening is a critical step in the HIV care continuum to lowering incidence and achieving viral load suppression among at-risk populations. Few studies assess factors associated with HIV screening among transgender individuals living in the southeast region of the United States. This study was conducted to determine factors that influence HIV screening among transgender individuals in South Florida.Methods: During Fall 2016, 68 participants were recruited to complete a questionnaire as part of a pilot pre-exposure prophylaxis study. Correlations were examined between sociodemographic factors, HIV risk, and access to and engagement in care. Significant correlations were entered into one logistic regression model to estimate predictors of HIV screening and knowledge of HIV status.Results: Almost half (48.5%) of the respondents were Latinx, 38.2% Black, 10.3% non-Latinx White, and 3% other. Seventy-eight percent reported access and routine engagement in care within the past year, 25% had not screened for HIV in the past year, and of those who knew their status, 16.7% reported living with HIV. Regression analysis revealed that participants with routine engagement in care were twice as likely to screen for HIV (p=0.02). Unstable housing was associated with no HIV screening in the past year (p=0.05).Conclusion: Stable housing is linked to engagement in routine care that can increase the likelihood of an at-risk transgender individual screening for HIV. Further research is needed to develop interventions to improve engagement in care among transgender individuals who do not have adequate housing or access to care