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Design, Integration and Optimization of Biorefineries

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 4223

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1950 Sion, Switzerland
Interests: process design and modeling; energy system modeling; bio-refinery; bio-fuels; renewables; heat exchanger and water networks; CO2 capture and utilization; life cycle analysis; uncertainty analysis; evolutionary multi-objective optimization; surrogate modelling

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
Interests: chemical engineering; process design; process optimization; process modeling; process control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

A biorefinery integrates several biomass conversion technologies to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and energy services. This integration is essential for achieving sustainable biorefineries. In a modern biorefinery, biomass conversion is realised via thermochemical (torrefaction, liquefaction, gasification, syngas cleaning and product synthesis) and biochemical (fermentation, anaerobic digestion, product separation and purification) routes. Process design, modeling, integration and optimization are important for the development of biorefineries. Design of a biorefinery is evaluated based on the techno-economics and life cycle impact. Further, heat, power and water integrations are crucial to enhance the sustainability of biorefineries.

This Special Issue will focus on the process design, modeling, integration, and optimization of biorefineries. Topics of interest for publication in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • Multi-product biorefinery design
  • First, second and third generation biofuels production
  • Biochemicals and bioenergy production
  • Heat and water integrations in biorefineries
  • Process intensification in biorefineries
  • Biorefinery optimization for one or more objectives
  • Hydrothermal liquification and gasification
  • Anaerobic digestion and biogas upgradation
  • Organic waste valorisation
  • Fermentation, product separation and purification
  • CO2 capture and utilization in biorefineries

Dr. Shivom Sharma
Prof. Dr. Gade Pandu Rangaiah
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Biorefinery
  • Process design and modelling
  • Process intensification
  • Process integration and optimization 
  • Heat and/or water integration
  • Thermochemical process
  • Biochemical process
  • Torrefaction, liquefaction, and gasification
  • Fermentation and anaerobic digestion
  • Product separation and purification
  • Biofuels and bioenergy
  • Waste valorization
  • Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis
  • Economic and environmental analysis
  • Life cycle analysis

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4816 KiB  
Article
Health Monitoring of Pressure Regulating Stations in Gas Distribution Networks Using Mathematical Models
by Shivom Sharma, Iftekhar A. Karimi, Shamsuzzaman Farooq, Lakshminarayanan Samavedham and Rajagopalan Srinivasan
Energies 2022, 15(17), 6264; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176264 - 28 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1347
Abstract
Many cities have extensive distribution networks that supply natural or town gas to domestic, industrial, and power plant consumers. A typical network may have hundreds of pressure regulating stations that are of different types and capacities, but most legacy networks are sparsely instrumented. [...] Read more.
Many cities have extensive distribution networks that supply natural or town gas to domestic, industrial, and power plant consumers. A typical network may have hundreds of pressure regulating stations that are of different types and capacities, but most legacy networks are sparsely instrumented. The reliability of these stations is the first priority for ensuring uninterrupted gas supplies; hence, condition monitoring and prescriptive maintenance are critical. In this study, mathematical models were developed for two types of commonly used regulators: spring-loaded and lever-type regulators. We also considered three faults that are typically of interest: filter choking, valve seat damage, and diaphragm deterioration. The proposed methodologies used the available measured data and mathematical models to diagnose faults, track prognoses, and estimate the remaining useful life of the regulators. The applicability of our proposed methodologies was demonstrated using real data from an existing distribution network. To facilitate industrial use, the methodologies were packaged into a user-friendly dashboard that could act as an interface with the operational database and display the health status of the regulators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Integration and Optimization of Biorefineries)
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16 pages, 1079 KiB  
Article
Bioconversion of the Brown Tunisian Seaweed Halopteris scoparia: Application to Energy
by Farah Hadjkacem, Guillaume Pierre, Gwendoline Christophe, Jihen Elleuch, Imen Fendri, Zakaria Boual, Mohamed Didi Ould El Hadj, Zainab El Alaoui-Talibi, Cherkaoui El Modafar, Pascal Dubessay, Cédric Delattre, Philippe Michaud and Slim Abdelkafi
Energies 2022, 15(12), 4342; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124342 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2124
Abstract
The brown Tunisian seaweed Halopteris scoparia was used as a feedstock for producing renewable bioethanol, biogas, and biodiesel to demonstrate the proof of concept for the North African energy sector. A quantitative and qualitative quantification of H. scoparia composition using different colorimetric methods [...] Read more.
The brown Tunisian seaweed Halopteris scoparia was used as a feedstock for producing renewable bioethanol, biogas, and biodiesel to demonstrate the proof of concept for the North African energy sector. A quantitative and qualitative quantification of H. scoparia composition using different colorimetric methods was completed to highlight its bioconversion potential. These substrate inputs were subjected to anaerobic fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce bioethanol. The materials were also used to generate bio-hydrogen and volatile fatty acids during dark fermentation by a bacterial consortium and using the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. The lipids were extracted and trans-esterified to Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs), and their profiles were then analyzed with gas chromatography (GC). A significant ratio of the bioethanol, e.g., 0.35 g ethanol/g DW substrate, was produced without pretreatment, consistent with the theoretical Gay-Lussac yield. The production of the biohydrogen and lipids were up to 1.3 mL H2/g DW substrate and 0.04 g/g DW substrate, respectively, from the raw biomass. These results were higher than those reported for other well-studied seaweeds such as L. japonica. Overall, this work contributes to the current investigations in Tunisia for producing alternative energies from algae and finding new solutions to the current energy situation and environmental challenges in Maghreb. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Integration and Optimization of Biorefineries)
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