Comparative Study on Quality of Fuel Pellets from Switchgrass Treated with Different White-Rot Fungi
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Feedstock
2.2. Fungal Growth and Inoculation Preparation
2.3. Solid-State Fermentation of Substrate
2.4. Experimental Design
2.5. Pelletization of the Switchgrass
2.6. Pellet Unit Density and Dimensional Stability
2.7. Pellet Tensile Strength
2.8. Moisture Absorption Isotherm of Pellets
2.9. Raw Material and Pellet Characterization
2.9.1. Ultimate Analysis
2.9.2. Higher Heating Value and Ash Content
2.9.3. Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA)
2.9.4. Proximate Analysis
2.9.5. Chemical Composition
2.9.6. Microstructural Examination
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Switchgrass Pellet Produced
3.2. Properties of the Switchgrass Pellets
3.3. Effects of Independent Variables and Their Interactions on the Switchgrass Pellet Quality
3.4. Optimization of the Fungal Pretreatment for Fuel Pellet Production
3.5. Moisture Absorption of the Switchgrass Pellets
3.6. Ultimate and Proximate Composition of the Switchgrass
3.7. Chemical Composition and Higher Heating Value (HHV)
3.8. TGA/DTG Analysis
3.9. Microstructure Analysis
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Fungal Strain | Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sum of | Mean | F value | ρ value | |||
Source | Squares | df | Square | |||
Model | 0.71 | 4 | 0.18 | 6.87 | 0.0008 *** | |
m4D | 0.42 | 1 | 0.42 | 16.38 | 0.0005 *** | |
0.09 | 1 | 0.091 | 3.55 | 0.0716 * | ||
0.15 | 1 | 0.150 | 5.83 | 0.0238 ** | ||
Lack of Fit | 0.46 | 20 | 0.023 | 0.60 | 0.8051 | |
Model | 1.33 | 6 | 0.22 | 5.91 | 0.0009 *** | |
0.16 | 1 | 0.16 | 4.36 | 0.0487 ** | ||
TV52J | 0.68 | 1 | 0.68 | 18.05 | 0.0003 *** | |
0.16 | 1 | 0.16 | 4.35 | 0.0488 ** | ||
0.15 | 1 | 0.15 | 3.86 | 0.0622 * | ||
0.17 | 1 | 0.17 | 4.65 | 0.0423 ** | ||
Lack of Fit | 0.74 | 18 | 0.04 | 1.83 | 0.2965 | |
Model | 1.97 | 7 | 0.28 | 4.87 | 0.0022 *** | |
0.78 | 1 | 0.78 | 13.50 | 0.0014 *** | ||
PC | 0.32 | 1 | 0.32 | 5.46 | 0.0295 ** | |
0.25 | 1 | 0.25 | 4.28 | 0.0511 * | ||
0.36 | 1 | 0.36 | 6.16 | 0.0216 ** | ||
Lack of Fit | 1.02 | 17 | 0.060 | 1.22 | 0.4712 |
Fungal Strain | Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sum of | Mean | F-value | p-value | |||
Source | Squares | df | Square | |||
Model | 4485.54 | 10 | 448.55 | 7.57 | 0.0001 *** | |
2019.43 | 1 | 2019.43 | 34.06 | <0.0001 *** | ||
m4D | 786.35 | 1 | 786.35 | 13.26 | 0.0019 *** | |
265.20 | 1 | 265.20 | 4.47 | 0.0486 ** | ||
306.25 | 1 | 306.25 | 5.17 | 0.0355 ** | ||
355.32 | 1 | 355.32 | 5.99 | 0.0248 ** | ||
399.13 | 1 | 399.13 | 6.73 | 0.0183 ** | ||
Lack of Fit | 940.59 | 14 | 67.19 | 2.12 | 0.2436 | |
Model | 4670.60 | 7 | 667.23 | 6.57 | 0.0003 *** | |
1345.78 | 1 | 1345.78 | 13.25 | 0.0015 *** | ||
TV52J | 1174.14 | 1 | 1174.14 | 11.56 | 0.0027 *** | |
1027.84 | 1 | 1027.84 | 10.12 | 0.0045 *** | ||
771.01 | 1 | 771.01 | 7.59 | 0.0119 ** | ||
Lack of Fit | 800.59 | 17 | 47.09 | 0.14 | 0.9985 | |
Model | 30,946.79 | 4 | 7736.70 | 4.24 | 0.0097 *** | |
PC | 22,356.88 | 1 | 22,356.88 | 12.27 | 0.0018 *** | |
5364.10 | 1 | 5364.10 | 2.94 | 0.0991 * | ||
Lack of Fit | 32,577.3407 | 20 | 1628.87 | 0.58 | 0.8135 |
Fungal Strain | Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sum of | Mean | F-value | p-value | |||
Source | Squares | df | Square | |||
Model | 0.50 | 2 | 0.25 | 3.25 | 0.0550 * | |
0.26 | 1 | 0.26 | 3.32 | 0.0798 * | ||
m4D | 0.24 | 1 | 0.24 | 3.17 | 0.0865 * | |
Lack of Fit | 1.63 | 22 | 0.07 | 0.81 | 0.6748 | |
Model | 1.09 | 7 | 0.16 | 2.63 | 0.0409 ** | |
TV52J | 0.42 | 1 | 0.42 | 7.09 | 0.0146 ** | |
0.45 | 1 | 0.45 | 7.47 | 0.0125 ** | ||
Lack of Fit | 0.90 | 17 | 0.05 | 0.59 | 0.8004 | |
Model | 11.99 | 5 | 2.40 | 4.01 | 0.0092 *** | |
PC | 2.84 | 1 | 2.84 | 4.75 | 0.0398 ** | |
6.50 | 1 | 6.50 | 10.87 | 0.0032 *** | ||
1.79 | 1 | 1.79 | 2.99 | 0.0972 * | ||
Lack of Fit | 11.69 | 19 | 0.62 | 1.19 | 0.4821 |
Sample Treatment | Total Lignin (% Dry Weight) | Cellulose (% Dry Weight) | Hemicellulose (% Dry Weight) | Ash Content (% Dry Weight) | Higher Heating Value (MJ/kg) | Energy Loss (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Untreated | 26.75 | 36.30 | 15.10 | 2.37 ± 0.24 | 18.03 ± 0.019 | _ |
M4D T1 | 23.50 | 49.20 | 24.20 | 3.44 ± 0.35 | 17.92 ± 0.051 | 0.6 |
M4D P1 | 24.80 | 38.70 | 22.10 | 3.36 ± 0.28 | 17.94 ± 0.027 | 0.49 |
PC P1 | 24.10 | 42.90 | 23.80 | 3.25 ± 0.71 | 17.67 ± 2.010 | 2.01 |
PC T1 | 24.50 | 31.40 | 14.90 | 2.91 ± 0.83 | 17.71 ± 1.790 | 1.79 |
TV52J P1 | 24.80 | 39.50 | 23.70 | 3.62 ± 0.32 | 17.75 ± 0.032 | 1.57 |
TV52J T1 | 23.80 | 44.90 | 22.70 | 3.26 ± 0.51 | 17.82 ± 0.064 | 1.16 |
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Onu Olughu, O.; Tabil, L.G.; Dumonceaux, T.; Mupondwa, E.; Cree, D. Comparative Study on Quality of Fuel Pellets from Switchgrass Treated with Different White-Rot Fungi. Energies 2021, 14, 7670. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14227670
Onu Olughu O, Tabil LG, Dumonceaux T, Mupondwa E, Cree D. Comparative Study on Quality of Fuel Pellets from Switchgrass Treated with Different White-Rot Fungi. Energies. 2021; 14(22):7670. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14227670
Chicago/Turabian StyleOnu Olughu, Onu, Lope G. Tabil, Tim Dumonceaux, Edmund Mupondwa, and Duncan Cree. 2021. "Comparative Study on Quality of Fuel Pellets from Switchgrass Treated with Different White-Rot Fungi" Energies 14, no. 22: 7670. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14227670