Autothermal slow pyrolysis of poplar wood chips in an auger reactor

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Bio-Hydrocarbons through Catalytic Pyrolysis of Used Cooking Oils: towards sustainable jet and road fuels

Abstract Vegetable Oil (VO) is today the most used feedstock for transport biofuel production by transesterification to biodiesel. Other commercial technologies for renewable fuels production are mainly based either on Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis from coal, natural gas and possibly biomass, or hydro treating of vegetable oil (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, HVO): this also includes Hydrotreated Renewable Jet fuel, HRJ, Used Cooking Oil (UCO) is a highly sustainable feedstock (based on EC-RED scheme): it is therefore considered as a possible alternative to VOs for greening of air transport and, under proper circumstances, for reducing the feedstock cost component. However, the use of UCO is not trivial in reactors, as catalysts are sensitive to impurities and contaminations, which are typical of waste oils. Moreover, the chemical composition of UCO is variable regionally as well as seasonally, because the type of base-vegetable oils vary with Country and period of the year. In the framework of the ITAKA EU FP7 project, (catalytic) thermochemical conversion of UCO has been considered to obtain an intermediate biofuel suitable for upgrading by hydrotreating. The catalytic conversion of UCO and Fatty Acids were investigated in a 1.5 kg/h pilot unit. UCO, properly filtered and conditioned, was characterized, and then converted in bio-oil by means of thermal and catalytic reactionsunder controlled conditions. The type of catalyst and the reaction conditions, including several parameters such as temperature, reactor geometry, heating rate and residence time, were evaluated, and selected combinations were tested. The bio-oil was characterized in terms of main constituents and hydrocarbons content, and GC-MS and GC-FID analyses were used to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the composition of the fuel

Thermochemical Conversion of Microalgae: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract Research in Advanced Biofuels steadily developed during recent years. A number of highly innovative technologies have been explored at various scale: among these, lignocellulosic ethanol and CTO (Crude Tall Oil)-biofuel technologies already achieved the early-commercial status, while hydrotreating of vegetable oils (HVO, or HEFA) can be considered today fully commercial. However, despite the level of innovation in each specific technological process under consideration, the feedstock maintains a central role in making a biofuel chain really sustainable. In this context, microalgae grown in salt-water and arid areas offers a considerable opportunity for advanced biofuel production: at the same time, however, they also represent a considerable challenge. Processing microalgae in an economic way into a viable and sustainable liquid biofuel (a low-cost mass-produced product) is not trivial. So far, the main attention has been given to cultivating the microorganism, accumulating lipids, extracting the oil, valorising co-products, and treating the algae oil into biodiesel (through esterification) or HEFA (Hydrotreated Esthers and Fatty Acids), this second one representing a very high quality biofuels, almost a drop-in fuel (suitable either for road transport or for aviation), which production exceed 2 Mt y-1 today. However, extracting the algae oil at low cost and at industrial scale is not yet a full industrial mature process, and the still limited market size of algae-to-biofuels makes difficult the development of industrial-scale systems. Nevertheless, another option can be considered, i.e. processing the whole algae into dedicated thermochemical reactors, thus approaching the downstream processing of algae in a completely different way from separation. The present work examines the possible routes for thermochemical conversion of microalgae, distinguishing between dry-processes (namely pyrolysis and gasification) and wet-processes (near critical water hydrothermal liquefaction and hydrothermal gasification). Typical expected elementary composition of major products is given. Main peculiarities of batch versus continuous processing are also discussed from an engineering point of view. Major engineering advantages and challenges in thermochemically conversion of algae are identified and discussed, in view of the production of a transport biofuel. Finally, future perspectives for each route are given in terms of current and expected technological readiness level

Biomass Carbonization: Process Options and Economics for Small Scale Forestry Farms☆

Abstract Bioenergy represents a unique opportunity for forestry companies to diversify the sources of income and create new stable business opportunities: a large number of initiatives has started in the last decades especially regarding decentralized power generation; nevertheless the conversion of the farmers to energy producers is not a trivial issue. The present work has focused on a possible alternative to biopower generation for forestry farms: the biomass carbonization (i.e. biomass slow pyrolysis). Charcoal making presents good prerequisite conditions for successful biomass based systems in the forestry sector: the system results incentive-independent, the power generation represents the co-product of a different primary production (resulting a real additional income), the plant capital cost is affordable for small scale farmers, operations requires technical skills normally available in the forestry sector and the reliability of the system is proven and credible, reducing the risks contained in business plans based on "number of hours of operation over several years". Moreover charcoal is a well known product, familiar to forestry companies for a very long time, the market is well defined, the technology is known but still offers opportunities for further improvements (in terms of efficiency, costs and environmental impacts), the technology does not present major risk, the investment is well suited to small farmers and the process and technology gives a great opportunity for small scale and local supply chain development. Based on these considerations, the present work investigated the technological opportunities for small scale charcoal making systems. Various process configurations have been examined, focusing on advantages and disadvantages representative of each solution in view of small scale application suitable for the Italian case and a designed pilot plant has been proposed

Quality of Life in osteoporotic patients

Background: Osteoporosis is responsible for fragility fractures, which are associated with impaired quality of life (QoL) and disability. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the QoL in patients affected by osteoporosis and possible determinants. Methods: One-hundred thirty-four subjects followed at the osteoprosis outpatient clinic at our institution completed the QUALEFFO-41 questionnaire for quality of life. All subjects had undergone bone densitometry measurement and the FRAX index, summarizing the risk of fragility fracture, was calculated for each of them. The QoL in these subjects and its possible determinants were investigated with univariate and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Subjects with osteoporosis had lower scores in the domains of physical and social function of the QUALEFFO questionnaire in comparison with subjects with normal bome mineral density. Main factors associated with impairment in QoL were high FRAX score and body mass index (BMI). Conclusion: Physical and social function is reduced in osteoporotic subjects. High BMI and an increased risk of fragility fracture were main determinants of impairment in the QoL in this study

Transcriptional activation of the miR-17-92 cluster is involved in the growth-promoting effects of MYB in human Ph-positive leukemia cells.

MicroRNAs, non-coding regulators of gene expression, are likely to function as important downstream effectors of many transcription factors including MYB. Optimal levels of MYB are required for transformation/maintenance of BCR-ABL-expressing cells. We investigated whether MYB silencing modulates microRNA expression in Philadelphia-positive (Ph+) leukemia cells and if MYB-regulated microRNAs are important for the MYB addiction of these cells. Thirty-five microRNAs were modulated by MYB silencing in lymphoid and erythromyeloid chronic myeloid leukemia-blast crisis BV173 and K562 cells; 15 of these were concordantly modulated in both lines. We focused on the miR-17-92 cluster because of its oncogenic role in tumors and found that: i) it is a direct MYB target; ii) it partially rescued the impaired proliferation and enhanced apoptosis of MYB-silenced BV173 cells. Moreover, we identified FRZB, a Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor, as a novel target of the miR-17-92 cluster. High expression of MYB in blast cells from 2 Ph+leukemia patients correlated positively with the miR-17-92 cluster and inversely with FRZB. This expression pattern was also observed in a microarray dataset of 122 Ph+acute lymphoblastic leukemias. In vivo experiments in NOD scid gamma mice injected with BV173 cells confirmed that FRZB functions as a Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor even as they failed to demonstrate that this pathway is important for BV173-dependent leukemogenesis. These studies illustrate the global effects of MYB expression on the microRNAs profile of Ph+cells and supports the concept that the MYB addiction of these cells is, in part, caused by modulation of microRNA-regulated pathways affecting cell proliferation and survival. Copyright© 2019 Ferrata Storti Foundation