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

Acid-Assisted Organosolv Pre-Treatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cynara cardunculus L. for Glucose Production

Lignocellulosic biomass is a non-edible feedstock that can be used in integrated biorefinery for the production of biochemicals and biofuel. Among lignocellulosic biomass, Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon) is a promising crop thanks to its low water and fertilizer demand. Organosolv is a chemical treatment that uses numerous organic or aqueous solvent mixtures, and a small amount of acid catalyst, in order to solubilize the lignin and hemicellulose fractions, making the cellulose accessible to hydrolytic enzymes. Lignocellulosic residues of cardoon underwent a two-step treatment process to obtain fermentable glucose. In the first step, the milled biomass was subjected to microwave-assisted extraction using an acidified γ-valerolactone (GVL)/water mixture, yielding a solid cellulose pulp. In the second step, the pre-treated material was hydrolyzed by cellulolytic enzymes to glucose. The first step was optimized by means of a two-level full factorial design. The investigated factors were process temperature, acid catalyst concentration, and GVL/water ratio. A glucose production equal to 30.17 g per 100 g of raw material (89% of the maximum theoretical yield) was achieved after conducting the first step at 150 °C using an acidified water solution (1.96% H2SO4w/w)

La manutenzione degli alvei fluviali per la prevenzione dei dissesti idrogeologici: quadro normativo, impatti socio-economici e ambientali, criticità e nuove opportunità per il territorio.

La carenza di servizi di manutenzione degli alvei fluviali ha comportato, negli ultimi decenni, un incremento del rischio idraulico dei bacini idrografici, con conseguenze disastrose in termini di sicurezza e fruibilità del territorio, con ricadute socio-economiche ed ambientali nelle zone più vulnerabili. Il CIRIAF-CRB dell’Università di Perugia, in collaborazione con l’Università per Stranieri di Perugia e l’Università della Tuscia di Viterbo, attraverso il progetto di ricerca GEST-RIVER (Gestione Eco‐Sostenibile dei Territori a Rischio Inondazione e Valorizzazione Economica delle Risorse) a partire da una ricognizione normativa in materia di alluvioni, sta sviluppando un’articolata attività di ricerca per l’analisi degli impatti socio-economici ed ambientali sul territorio colpito da dissesto idrogeologico, al fine di individuare strategie virtuose per la messa in sicurezza del territorio e, per la parte di sua competenza, mappatura, recupero e manutenzione della biomassa, la sua valorizzazione energetica e la caratterizzazione dei vari sottoprodotti degli interventi, come ad esempio i fanghi di dragaggio del fiume per la produzione di laterizi

Cellulose Nanocrystals Obtained from Cynara Cardunculus and Their Application in the Paper Industry

Biorefinery aims at designing new virtuous and high-efficiency energy chains, achieving the combined production of biofuels (e.g., bioethanol) and biobased products. This emerging philosophy can represent an important opportunity for the industrial world, exploiting a new kind of nano-smart biomaterials in their production chains. This paper will present the lab experience carried out by the Biomass Research Centre (CRB) in extracting cellulose nanocrystals (NCC) from a pretreated (via Steam Explosion) fraction of Cynara cardunculus. This is a very common and invasive arboreal variety in central Italy. The NCC extraction methodology allows the separation of the crystalline content of cellulose. Such a procedure has been considered in the literature with the exception of one step in which the conditions have been optimized by CRB Lab. This procedure has been applied for the production of NCC from both Cynara cardunculus and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The paper will discuss some of the results achieved using the obtained nanocrystals as reinforcing filler in a paper sheet; it was found that the tensile strength increased from 3.69 kg/15 mm to 3.98 kg/15 mm, the durability behavior (measured by bending number) changed from the value 95 to the value 141, and the barrier properties (measured by Gurley porosity) were improved, increasing from 38 s to 45 s

Vulnerabilità del territorio in presenza di bacini fluviali. Analisi degli impatti socio-economici e ambientali e individuazione di aree di studio rappresentative

La gestione sostenibile degli assetti idrici, integrata con obiettivi di contenimento del consumo del suolo e di salvaguardia delle relative funzioni ecosistemiche, rappresenta un obiettivo centrale della pianificazione strategica del territorio che utilizza le conoscenza dei pericoli naturali, in particolare il dissesto idrogeologico, come supporto ai processi decisionali di governo degli ambienti urbani e natural

Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production from the Recovery of Stranded Driftwood Residues

This paper builds upon a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment, and aims to recover stranded driftwood residues (SDRs), in order to transform a potential pollution and safety issue into valuable bio-resources. In particular, one of the experiments consisted of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic residues. The SDRs were gathered from the Italian coast (Abruzzo Region, Italy) after an intense storm. The biomass recalcitrance, due to its lignocellulosic structure, was reduced by a steam explosion (SE) pretreatment process. Four different pretreatment severity factors (R0) were tested (LogR0 3.65, 4.05, 4.24 and 4.64) in order to evaluate the pretreated material’s accessibility to enzymatic attack and the holocellulose (cellulose plus hemicellulose) recovery. A first enzymatic hydrolysis was performed on the pretreated materials by employing a solid/liquid (S/L) ratio of 1% (w/w) and an enzyme dosage of 30% (w enzyme/w cellulose), in order to estimate the maximum enzymatically accessible cellulose content. Since the primary goal of pretreatment and hydrolysis is to convert as much cellulose as possible into monomeric glucose and recover all the holocellulose, the two pretreated materials showing these features were selected for bioethanol production process. The pretreated materials underwent a semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSSF). The SSSF process was performed into two lab-scale bioreactors (5 L) with an S/L ratio of 15% and an enzyme dosage of 15% for five days. The efficiency of the whole bioethanol production process was assessed as ethanol overall yields (g ethanol/100 g raw material). The best overall yield was achieved by sample BS04 (8.98 g ethanol/100 g raw material)

Sustainable Ethanol Production from Common Reed (Phragmites australis) through Simultaneuos Saccharification and Fermentation

Phragmites australis (common reed) is a perennial grass that grows in wetlands or near inland waterways. Due to its fast-growing properties and low requirement in nutrients and water, this arboreal variety is recognized as a promising source of renewable energy although it is one of the least characterized energy crops. In this experiment, the optimization of the bioethanol production process from Phragmites australis was carried out. Raw material was first characterized according to the standard procedure (NREL) to evaluate its composition in terms of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content. Common reed was pretreated by steam explosion process at three different severity factor (R0) values. The pretreatment was performed in order to reduce biomass recalcitrance and to make cellulose more accessible to enzymatic attack. After the pretreatment, a water insoluble substrate (WIS) rich in cellulose and lignin and a liquid fraction rich in pentose sugars (xylose and arabinose) and inhibitors were collected and analyzed. The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of the WIS was performed at three different solid loadings (SL) 10%, 15%, 20% (w/w). The same enzyme dosage, equal to 20% (g enzyme/g cellulose), was used for all the WIS loadings. The efficiency of the whole process was evaluated in terms of ethanol overall yield (g ethanol/100 g raw material). The maximum ethanol overall yields achieved were 16.56 and 15.80 g ethanol/100 g RM dry basis for sample AP10 and sample AP4.4, respectively. The yields were reached working at lower solid loading (10%) and at the intermediate LogR0 value for the former and at intermediate solid loading (15%) and high LogR0 value for the latter, respectively