Characterization of Empty Fruit Bunch Treated with Ionic Liquid Prior to Enzymatic Delignification

The technological utility of enzymes for delignification can be increased by using ionic liquid to open more accessible surface area for biomass transformation into bio-based products. The present paper demonstrates application of ionic liquid (IL) [emim][DEP] 1-ethyl-3 methyllimidazolium-diethyl phospate for empty fruit bunch (EFB) pretreatment process followed by enzymatic delignification by using Laccase.  It was found that [emim][DEP] increased the performance of the enzyme laccase and henced higher cellulose rich materials, whereas also reduced the lignin content in the EFB. The lowest lignin content obtained from IL-laccase treated EFB was approximately 17.92%, lower than the lignin content in the untreated EFB. Both treated and untreated EFB were characterized in chemical and physical properties by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG) to observe the changes resulted from the pretreatment

Hydrodeoxygenation of Guaiacol over Al-MCM-41 Supported Metal Catalysts: A Comparative Study of Co and Ni

AbstractThe hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of guaiacol, a model compound of pyrolysis oil, was catalyzed by Al-MCM-41 supported Co and Ni catalysts in a fixed-bed continuous reactor at ambient pressure. The effects of contact time (W/F) and reaction temperature on HDO of guaiacol over the Co and Ni catalyst were studied. Cobalt showed higher activity than nickel in HDO via C−O hydrogenolysis pathway. The conversion of guaiacol over Ni catalyst principally occurred via C−C hydrogenolysis pathway, resulting in methane formation. Besides, the acidic Al-MCM-41 support catalyzed the methyl transfer reaction to form the methylated products. Additionally, increasing reaction temperature improved the HDO and suppressed the hydrogenation but promoted the methanization activities

A THEORETICAL EQUATION PRESENTING SLOPE IN VAN KREVELEN DIAGRAM FOR BIOMASS PYROLYSIS

The van Krevelen diagram has been used widely to describe the change of biomass composition during the thermochemical decomposition. However, the theoretical background on how the composition point of raw material moves towards the point of the product with thermochemical decomposition on the diagram has not been well clarified. This paper attempted to formulate a theoretical equation presenting the slope in van Krevelen diagram based on the removal rates of volatile products during thermochemical decomposition. An equation was established to predict the slope of the movement (or called as the reaction trend line) based on the generated amount of volatiles (H2O, CO2, CO and organics) during thermochemical conversion. This equation was applied to predict some empirical trend lines for torrefaction to confirm the relevamce of this equation, the consistency was excellent. Furthermore, the equation shows its capability in representing other thermal degradation process with a slope variation depending on the raw material

Delignification of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) using Low Transition Temperature Mixtures (LTTMs) : A Review

Biomass processing using low transition temperature mixtures (LTTMs) has the potential to become a sustainable alternative resource for production of raw materials and fuels with a neutral carbon dioxide balance. The state of art for customizing the physicochemical behaviour of these new green solvents by a prudent selection of the constituents’ nature and ratio through microwave irradiation is presented in this work. The impact of the following parameters, namely type of malic acid, molar ratio of malic acid to natural salt, water content and temperature of treatment are related to the solvation behaviour of LTTMs. An overview of the conditions for the highest efficiency in the delignification of empty fruit bunch (EFB) are described

Kinetic Study on Palm Oil Waste Decomposition

No abstract available

Physicochemical Properties of Low Transition Temperature Mixtures in Water

A new generation of designer solvents, low transition temperature mixtures (LTTMs) could be the ideal solvent for the separation of the main biopolymers in lignocellulosic biomass such as lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. The separated biopolymers have prospective to be converted into high valuable products. LTTMs can be synthesized from two natural high melting point materials through hydrogen bonding interactions. The objective of this research was to study the effects of water in the physicochemical properties of LTTMs such as hydrogen bonding, thermal stability and lignin solubility. LTTMs were prepared in the presence and absence of distilled water with malic acid as the hydrogen bond donor (HBD) and sucrose as hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA). The molar ratio of malic acid to sucrose was fixed at 1:1. Based on the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, the FT-IR spectra of all the LTTMs shown representative peak of carboxylic acid group of malic acid turned broader at 1,710 cm-1 for the C=O group. Nevertheless, the peaks involved in the H-bonding due to the formation of LTTMs shifted and became broader within 2,500 - 3,600 cm-1 for the OH groups of carboxylic acid and alcohols in the presence of water. The degradation temperature of LTTM was not affected by the addition of water which remained at 400 K. In addition, the LTTM with water had increased the lignin solubility from 6.22 to 6.38 wt% without affecting the thermal behaviour of LTTMs