Effect of various pretreatments on energy recovery from waste biomass

ABSTRACT

Energy recovery from biomass, specifically lignocellulosic biomass, has been in research focus as an alternative to fossil fuel due to natural abundance and carbon-neutral feature. This study investigated the effect of chemical pretreatments on the composition and energy recovery potential of waste biomass (rice straw). The proximate and ultimate analysis confirmed a notable change in the waste biomass composition subjected to various pretreatments. Increased severity of the acid pretreatments significantly increased the energy recovery potential. A 15.67% enhancement in energy recovery potential was noted in waste biomass (rice straw) subjected to pretreatment with 30% sulfuric acid. The economic analysis revealed that enhancement in energy recovery potential (calorific value) can result in an economic gain. A net economic gain of 10.4% was computed for rice straw pretreated with 30% sulfuric acid. The correlation of economic benefit with the change in composition and energy content of an agro-residue (waste biomass) is the novelty of the study.

KEYWORDS:

• Pretreatment
• chemical
• waste biomass
• energy recovery
• economic analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge National Institute of Technology Agartala for providing laboratory support to conduct the reported research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rupak Roy

Rupak Roy obtained his Bachelor in Science degree with first-class in Bio-chemistry from Vivekananda College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India in 2013. He completed his Master's degree in Biotechnology with distinction in 2015 from Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India. Upon qualifying GATE-2015 he joined Doctor of Philosophy degree in Engineering at the Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Agartala, Tripura, India under the supervision of Dr. Srimanta Ray in 2017 for which he has been provided monthly scholarship from MHRD, Govt. of India. His current research focuses on the pretreatment of biomass for energy densification. He has presented 6 research articles in various national and international conferences/ symposiums.

Srimanta Ray

Srimanta Ray is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Dept. at the National Institute of Technology, Agartala, Tripura, India. For the past several years, he is also the departmental head. His doctorate is from Windsor, Canada. He had been an NSERC Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Canada in his Postdoctoral. He received many prestigious awards in Canada and India, including Alexander Graham Bell Doctoral award, Sustainability Green award, and DBT Associateship. He has supervised more than 20 masters and doctoral students. His current research team has several masters and doctoral students. The thrust area of his research is sustainable development for societal benefits focusing on renewable energy, alternative fuels, waste minimization, and secured water solutions. He and his research team has filed 6 patents and has more than 60 publications.