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Bioprocessing Technologies for Biofuel Production

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 10951

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Saifuddin Hj. M. Nomanbhay

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Guest Editor

Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang, Selangor 43000, Malaysia
Interests: biofuel; CO₂ remediation and utilization; decarbonization; microwave-assisted processes/reaction/plasma reaction; biomass processing; catalyst; marine algae

Dr. Shir Reen Chia

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Guest Editor

1. Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang, Selangor 43000, Malaysia
2. AAIBE Chair of Renewable Energy, Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang, Selangor 43000, Malaysia
Interests: biofuel; CO₂ remediation and utilization; decarbonization; microwave-assisted processes/reaction/plasma reaction; biomass processing; catalyst; marine algae

Dr. Mei Yin Ong

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Guest Editor

Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang, Selangor 43000, Malaysia
Interests: biofuel production; microwave-assisted hydrothermal liquefaction; algae; CO₂ utilization; non-catalytic transesterification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid depletion of fossil fuel and environmental pollution have urged society in exploring a substitution to ensure the consistent energy supply for a huge demand due to the increasing population worldwide and greener future. The discovery of biofuel, which originates from renewable sources is of utmost importance in solving the current issue faced through various bioprocessing technologies. As biofuel is producible from waste and biomass, the utilisation of these materials is encouraged for their abundance as compared to fossil fuels. With the advancement and development of this area, the potential for enlightening the environmental burden and securing energy supply is increasing.

This Special Issue seeks to disseminate and communicate the most recent advances in the field of renewable technologies, energy efficiency, biotransformation of waste into biofuels/bioenergy, biorefineries and low carbon technology. The aim is to provide a platform to share innovative concepts, ideas, and solutions in dealing with the challenges of high energy demand while marching to a sustainable future with minimum environmental impacts produced from the energy sector.

Topic of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

All bioprocessing technologies related to biofuel production, including transesterification, anaerobic digestion, gasification, pyrolysis, liquefaction, hydrogen cracking
Green technology for biofuel production, e.g.: microwave-assisted, ultrasonic-assisted technologies etc.
CO₂ mitigation, e.g.: Artificial Intelligence for decarbonization
Biomass utilisation
Waste utilisation
Biorefineries
Circular economy
Current state-of-art for biofuel production
Optimisation and modelling of bioprocess technologies
Catalyst for biofuel production

Prof. Dr. Saifuddin Hj. M. Nomanbhay
Dr. Shir Reen Chia
Dr. Mei Yin Ong
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

biofuel
biomass processing technology
catalysts
renewable resources
circular economy
green approaches
AI-bioprocess
Blockchain-bioprocess

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrothermal Carbonization of Sewage Sludge into Solid Biofuel: Influences of Process Conditions on the Energetic Properties of Hydrochar

by Siti Zaharah Roslan, Siti Fairuz Zainudin, Alijah Mohd Aris, Khor Bee Chin, Mohibah Musa, Ahmad Rafizan Mohamad Daud and Syed Shatir A. Syed Hassan

Energies 2023, 16(5), 2483; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052483 - 05 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2160

Abstract

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an attractive, green technology for the management of sewage sludge. In this study, low-value secondary sewage sludge was subjected to an HTC treatment in a 1 L batch hydrothermal reactor and transformed into a high-energy-density hydrochar under varying HTC conditions (temperature of 150–300 °C, carbonization time of 30–150 min and a solid loading of 10–30%). The resulting hydrochar fuel characteristics were analyzed for ultimate and proximate analyses, functional group composition and energetic parameters. It was found that the hydrochar yield decreased with the increasing HTC temperature and reaction time, primarily due to the loss of organic volatile matter and functional groups. Under the optimum conditions of 150 °C, 30 min of carbonization time and 30% solid loading, 80.56% of the hydrochar was recovered, providing a maximum energy yield of 90.32% and a high heating value of 18.49 MJ/kg. Compared to the raw sewage sludge (H/C ratio of 2.67 and O/C ratio of 0.51), the hydrochar also had lower H/C and O/C atomic ratios of 1.42 and 0.18, respectively. The results suggest that significant dehydration and decarboxylation during the HTC treatment of sewage sludge have resulted in the formation of carbonaceous hydrochar with energetic properties close to the sub-bituminous coals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioprocessing Technologies for Biofuel Production)

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22 pages, 4442 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization Study on Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Malaysian Macroalgae Chaetomorpha sp. for Phenolic-Rich Bio-Oil Production

by Mei Yin Ong and Saifuddin Nomanbhay

Energies 2022, 15(11), 3974; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15113974 - 27 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2104

Abstract

There are several methods of biomass conversion, including hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). The implementation of microwave technology in the HTL process is still new, especially on the conversion of marine biomass into bio-crude. In this work, the macroalgae Chaetomorpha sp. was used as the biomass feedstock to produce phenolic-rich bio-oil through microwave-assisted HTL. Chaetomorpha sp. was abundantly found in Malaysia, creating a green tides issue. By utilizing these algae, the green tide issue can be solved and value-added bio-oil is obtained. However, bio-oil from macroalgae has a relatively low heating value, restricting its fuel application. Therefore, it is suggested to be used for bio-polymer synthesis, including bio-based phenol formaldehyde. In this study, the effect of different parameters, such as reaction temperature, preloaded pressure, water-to-algal biomass ratio, and holding time, on both the bio-oil yield and phenolic yield was evaluated. Folin–Ciocalteu method was introduced as the phenolic determination method and the optimal conditions were located by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). As a results, an optimal biodiesel yield and phenolic yield of 21.47 wt% and 19.22 wt% Gallic Acid Equivalent was obtained at a reaction temperature of 226 °C, 42 bar preloaded pressure and 30:1 water-to-algal biomass ratio after 79 min. Sensitivity analysis also concluded that the water-to-algal biomass ratio is the most influential factor, followed by the preloaded pressure. The FTIR spectrum of the bio-oil produced indicated the presence of different functional group of compounds. In short, Chaetomorpha sp. has been successfully converted into valuable bio-oil through microwave-assisted HTL. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioprocessing Technologies for Biofuel Production)

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Review

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26 pages, 1832 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microwave-Absorbing Catalysts in Catalytic Reactions of Biofuel Production

by Shir Reen Chia, Saifuddin Nomanbhay, Jassinnee Milano, Kit Wayne Chew, Chung-Hong Tan and Kuan Shiong Khoo

Energies 2022, 15(21), 7984; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15217984 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1476

Abstract

Catalytic reactions in producing biofuels often face issues such as low product yield, low selectivity to preferred products and serious environmental issues which leads to the exploration of green technologies. Microwave technology is one of the green technologies that is widely applied in the field such as medical, food, signal processing or navigation, and has been reviewed for its potential in the catalytic reactions for biofuel production. With the application of microwave technology, its unique heating mechanism consists of magnetic field energy and electric field energy that enables the selective heating of materials, allowing rapid reaction and enhancement of catalytic performance of catalysts. In general, this review has discussed on the fundamentals and mechanisms of microwave technology with an in-depth discussion on the application of microwave-absorbing catalysts for biofuel production, especially in ammonia synthesis, bio-oil and 5-HMF production as well as methanation. Lastly, the challenges and future prospect of microwave-absorbing catalysts are included as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioprocessing Technologies for Biofuel Production)

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32 pages, 2743 KiB

Open AccessReview

Progress on Conventional and Advanced Techniques of In Situ Transesterification of Microalgae Lipids for Biodiesel Production

by Fazril Ideris, Mohd Faiz Muaz Ahmad Zamri, Abd Halim Shamsuddin, Saifuddin Nomanbhay, Fitranto Kusumo, Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah and Teuku Meurah Indra Mahlia

Energies 2022, 15(19), 7190; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197190 - 29 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2232

Abstract

Global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels have spurred many efforts in the quest for finding renewable, alternative sources of fuels, such as biodiesel. Due to its auxiliary functions in areas such as carbon dioxide sequestration and wastewater treatment, the potential of microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel production has attracted a lot of attention from researchers all over the world. Major improvements have been made from the upstream to the downstream aspects related to microalgae processing. One of the main concerns is the high cost associated with the production of biodiesel from microalgae, which includes drying of the biomass and the subsequent lipid extraction. These two processes can be circumvented by applying direct or in situ transesterification of the wet microalgae biomass, hence substantially reducing the cost. In situ transesterification is considered as a significant improvement to commercially produce biodiesel from microalgae. This review covers the methods used to extract lipids from microalgae and various in situ transesterification methods, focusing on recent developments related to the process. Nevertheless, more studies need to be conducted to further enhance the discussed in situ transesterification methods before implementing them on a commercial scale. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioprocessing Technologies for Biofuel Production)

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31 pages, 2485 KiB

Open AccessReview

Indigenous Materials as Catalyst Supports for Renewable Diesel Production in Malaysia

by Shir Reen Chia, Saifuddin Nomanbhay, Kit Wayne Chew, Pau Loke Show, Jassinnee Milano and Abd Halim Shamsuddin

Energies 2022, 15(8), 2835; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15082835 - 13 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2219

Abstract

High energy demand from the market due to the rapid increment of the human population worldwide has urged society to explore alternatives to replace non-renewable energy. Renewable diesel produced from biomass could be the next potential energy source for its high stability, long-term storage, and comparable performance with diesel fuels. In producing renewable diesel, the application of catalyst is essential, and the catalyst support is synthesized with the catalyst to enhance the reaction rate and catalytic properties. In this review, the type of catalyst support will be reviewed along with a brief introduction to biodiesel and renewable diesel production, especially focusing on zeolites as the catalyst support. The enhancement of catalyst support will be critically discussed to improve the catalytic performance of support in renewable diesel production and important aspects such as the stability and recyclability of the supported catalyst are included. The application of the supported catalyst in increasing the selectivity and yield of renewable diesel is significant, in which the catalytic properties depend on the interaction between catalyst and catalyst support. The supported catalyst as a favorable substance to assist in enhancing renewable diesel yield could lead to a sustainable and greener future for the biofuel industry in Malaysia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioprocessing Technologies for Biofuel Production)

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