Recycling of polyurethane foams: A strategy in waste management and control

Recycling ·of polymer materials such as polyurethane foam is one of the needed strategies to combat the menace of pollution in our environment. Pollution has been a consequence of ever-increasing massive quantity of wastes generated from household and industrial activities, posing a global challenge to man and the environment. Recycling can also be used to conserve natural resources and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials therefore having an overall effect- on reducing unnecessary generation of waste from production processes. In Nigeria . today, recycling. of polyurethane post consumer product as a means of waste reduction in our society is still grossly underutilised. This paper examines the current trend in recycling as a means of waste management and focuses on various methods of recycling polyurethane foams considering their application(s) to the Nigerian situation.Keywords: waste management, polyurethane, recycling, foams, polyme

Thermochemical Characterization of Biomass Residues and Wastes for Bioenergy

Biomass residues from plants and animal sources have been considered as organic materials useful for bioenergy production. The characteristics of a particular biomass sample are part of the factors that influence the properties of the resultant products used for bioenergy purpose. The choice of biomass feedstock and its suitable characterization method is therefore an important prerequisite step towards the determination of biomass fitness for thermal conversion methods. Biomass waste resources can be characterized using various techniques such as proximate, compositional, ultimate and thermogravimetric analyses. Important biomass characteristics include moisture content, volatile matter and ash content for proximate analysis while ultimate analysis provides information on elemental composition of the biomass. The compositional analysis involves the determination of the neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) contents of the biomass for estimating the hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin contents of the biomass. Thermogravimetric analysis is used to determine the kinetic parameter of samples under different conditions. New evolving biomass characterization methods and analytical techniques are discussed including current trends, results, challenges and future outlook The evolving methods and analytical techniques are motivated by the need for efficient high-throughput methods to analyse biomass for thermochemical conversion

Biomass Conversion by Pyrolysis Technology

Biomass conversions into value-added products have been done through biochemical, chemical and thermochemical processes. Pyrolysis is an existing popularly adopted thermochemical methods for biomass conversion. Pyrolysis process involves thermal decomposition which occurs above 400 °C without oxygen. During this pyrolysis process, organic matters are transformed into gases, liquids and solid residues containing carbon and ash. Pyrolysis occurs in two distinct steps, removal of moisture and condensation of volatiles into liquid fraction. These steps are controlled by some parameters, such as the feed properties, rate of heat transfer to the feeds, the residence time and the reaction temperature. Although pyrolysis has long been an established process usually practised in the chemical industry for the production of various chemicals from wood, it has become an important means of biomass conversion and a precursor to biorefining opportunities with future prospects