Search Results (8)

This study presents a social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) of the F-CUBED Production System (FPS), an innovative process that converts wet biogenic residues—specifically paper biosludge, virgin olive pomace, and fruit and vegetable residues—into intermediate bioenergy carriers via hydrothermal treatment (TORWASH^®), pelletization, and anaerobic digestion. The hydrothermal carbonization of these low-grade, moisture-rich biogenic residues enhances the flexibility and reliability of renewable energy systems while also offering the potential to reduce environmental burdens compared to conventional disposal methods. Through this S-LCA, the study aims to evaluate the cradle-to-gate socioeconomic impacts of the FPS in three European contexts—Sweden, Italy, and Spain—using the 2020 UNEP Guidelines and the Social Hotspots Database (SHDB) and applying quantitative modeling via SimaPro. The functional unit is defined as 1 kWh of electricity produced. The assessment combines SHDB-based modeling with primary data from stakeholder surveys conducted in the three countries. Impact categories are harmonized between SHDB and UNEP typologies, and the results are reported in medium-risk-hour equivalents (mrheq). The results show a heterogeneous social impact profile across case studies. In Sweden, the treatment of paper biosludge delivers substantial benefits with minimal risk. In Spain (orange peel), the introduction of the FPS demonstrated a strong social benefit, particularly in health and safety and labor rights, indicating high institutional performance and good integration with local industry. Conversely, in Italy (olive pomace), the FPS revealed significant social risks, especially in the biopellet production and electricity generation sectors, reflecting regional vulnerabilities in labor conditions and governance. This suggests that targeted mitigation strategies are recommended in contexts like Southern Italy. These findings highlight that the social sustainability of emerging bioenergy technologies is context-dependent and sensitive to sectoral and regional socioeconomic conditions. This S-LCA complements prior environmental assessments and emphasizes the importance of integrating social performance considerations in the deployment and scaling of innovative bioenergy systems. Full article

This study evaluates bio-briquettes and bio-pellets made from ramie (Boehmeria nivea), sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis), and palm kernel shell (Elaeis guineensis) as renewable fuel sources. Proximate analysis was conducted to measure moisture, ash, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and calorific values, while combustion tests assessed boiling efficiency and burn time. Results reveal that bio-briquettes generally outperform bio-pellets in calorific value, with sample B-S8R2 achieving the highest at 6455 kcal/kg and the fastest boiling time of 14 min at 88 °C. This enhanced performance is attributed to its high fixed carbon (71.81%) and low volatile matter, optimizing combustion and energy yield. In contrast, bio-pellets like sample P-PO7R3, with a calorific value of 4212 kcal/kg, offer moderate heat and durability, making them suitable for household use. The high density and low moisture content across all samples support efficient combustion, while the bio-briquettes’ low ash production indicates a more environmentally friendly fuel. The findings suggest that bio-briquettes are optimal for high-energy applications due to their superior combustion efficiency and environmental benefits, whereas bio-pellets provide a viable option for moderate-energy needs. This research supports the development of sustainable biofuel from biomass waste, providing a promising alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Full article

The effects of torrefaction of the biopellets made from hardwood chip residue (HW), camellia oilseed cake (CO), and pruning remnants of the toothache tree (TA) and mulberry tree (MT) were evaluated. Torrefaction of the biopellets reduced the volatile matter content of biopellets by 18–58% and increased their heating value by 18–58% without negatively impacting durability or fines content. Torrefaction also reduced the initial ignition time of biopellets by 50–59% and prolonged their combustion duration by 15–24%. Regardless of the type of feedstock, all biopellets exhibited mass yields in the range of 60–80% and energy yields ranging from 80–95%. The novelty of this study lies in the application of torrefaction to already-formed biopellets, which enhances pellet quality without the need for binders, and the use of unused forest biomass and wood chip residue from pulp mills. The use of unused forest biomass and wood chip residue from pulp mills for biopellet production not only provides a sustainable and efficient method for waste utilization but also contributes to environmental conservation by reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. Overall, the torrefaction of biopellets represents a promising technology for producing high-quality solid biofuel from a variety of woody biomass feedstocks without compromising pelletizing efficiency. Full article

Climate change concerns have goaded countries toward seeking renewable energy options (bio-energy being one of them) to replace/supplant the conventional fossil-fuel alternatives (coal, oil and natural gas) commonly used now. Fuel pellets—at the confluence of the forestry, agriculture, waste management and bio-energy sectors—when produced from biomass residues, serve the dual purpose of ensuring energy security and environmental sustainability. By valorizing more and more organic wastes to bio-energy products, one could, to use the old adage, ‘kill two birds with one stone’. Social LCA is a method used to analyze a very wide range of social issues associated with the stakeholders in a value chain—workers, local community dwellers, society, global consumers, banks, investors, governments, researchers, international organizations and NGOs. In this analysis, the authors commence with a highly focused, niche literature review on the social dimension of sustainability in the African energy/bio-energy sector. The streamlined social footprint analysis inspired by the relatively lesser number of such studies for this sector in Africa is not a novel addition per se to the S-LCA knowledge base. The purpose of the application is to shed light on something in Zambia that must be understood better so as to bring about much-needed alterations in the direction of sustainable development. While the questions addressed to four different groups of stakeholders encompass a clutch of sustainable development goals, gender equality (SDG 5) and the need for greater interest on the part of governments and investors (SDG 9) to look at sustainable alternatives to the status quo stand out as concerns that need to be tided over. This paper and the streamlined social footprint analysis carried out are all the more relevant and timely when one considers some key changes that have happened in Zambia over the last five years—the implementation of the National Energy Policy in 2019 and the creation of the Ministry of Green Economy in 2021. These are verily harbingers of positive change auguring well for future developments in the bio-energy (and bio-pellets) sector, not just in Zambia but, by way of emulating and learning, in other countries on the continent. Full article

The production of biopellets from agricultural residues is an effective method to overcome the expected shortage in the supply of fuel pellets in the future. This work focused on the new potential applications of fuel pellets to produce liquid and gas fuels through thermochemical and hydrothermal biomass-to-gas technologies. The outcomes also provide a basis to compare the effects of steam and hydrothermal gasification techniques on the properties of product and byproduct, as well as their potentials. For steam gasification, the syngas yield increased from 10.7 to 27.8 mmol/g (on a dry and ash-free basis) by a rise in the gasification temperature at a constant steam-to-biomass ratio. In the case of hydrothermal gasification, there was no carbon monoxide, and hydrogen was the main gas product, and with an increase in the temperature, the hydrogen yield rose from 0.4 mmol/g to 3.17 mmol/g with temperatures from 350 to 650 °C. CO had the largest share in the gas product from steam gasification, which was between 23.3 and 31.3 mol%. The range of the molar ratio of H₂/CO for the steam gasification (1.13–1.40) showed the necessity of the further purification of gas products to utilize them as feed for liquid fuel production using the Fischer–Tropsch process. Examination of the mineral content of biochar that remained after the gasification techniques showed large essential elements in them compared with heavy metals, which shows potential for soil amendment. The results highlight the possibility of converting an agricultural residue into a value-added product with potential applications in the energy sector and agriculture. Full article

In this study, coffee husk was used as the primary material to produce biopellets, with a mixture of tapioca flour and molasses as a binder. The concentration of each binder used was 10, 15, and 20%. The addition of tapioca flour and molasses at different concentrations increased the biopellets density, ash content, and fixed carbon content, and reduced moisture content and volatile matter content. The best formulation was obtained by adding 10% tapioca flour; it had a biopellet density of 610 kg/m³, an ash content of 3.03%, a moisture content of 8.03%, a volatile matter content of 81.79%, a fixed carbon content of 15.18%, a calorific value of 17.55 MJ/kg, a water-boiling time of 10 min, a fuel consumption rate of 0.008 kg/min, and a thermal efficiency of 33.15%. The design results were obtained using the distance from (diameter = 26.5 cm and height = 37 cm) the stove to the outside of the furnaces (this amounts to 8 cm, which can minimize the furnace, causing heat to generate from burning). The speed of the blowers can be adjusted by users using a dimmer. The results obtained from the stove’s performance showed the average thermal efficiency of the furnace, which with an average of 3.25 ppm. Full article

Conventional pump-and-treat strategies for dealing with groundwater contamination are both energy- and time-consuming. Potential passive biological techniques are of interest to remedy the massive volume of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)-contaminated groundwater worldwide. In this study, novel biopellets made of TPH-acclimated microbes, fermented fruit peel materials, and CaO₂ recycled from eggshells were manufactured to treat TPH-contaminated groundwater. The biopellets provided 56 mg of oxygen and achieved a C:N:P ratio by weight of 10:4:1. Moreover, each biopellet was capped with alginate to prolong its floating time in water to 25 days. The mimicked groundwater spiked with 500 mg/L diesel TPHs (TPHd) was treated using our novelly manufactured biopellets. After 8 days of treatment, results showed a 98.8% removal of spiked TPHd at a rate of 64.1 mg/L per day, with a microbial count that increased from nearly zero to 1.0 × 10⁷ CFU/mL. The residual TPHd constituents were mainly C13–C18. Furthermore, microbial consumption of N, P, and oxygen was noted during the 8-day period of TPHd removal. As the TPHd level increased to 1500 mg/L, the removal rate reached 45 mg/L per day, and all TPHd had been removed after 22 days. Full article

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) represents Indonesian major agriculture crop, nevertheless, its cultivation and processing results in an excessive amount of waste biomass, namely, empty fruit bunches (EFB), which is not always properly processed or reused. Therefore, the present investigation was performed to attract wide public interest in proper waste management and reuse of waste biomass. The suitability of such waste biomass for bio-pellet fuel production within its ecological EFB reuse was the subject of investigation. Its fuel parameters, mechanical quality and microscopic analysis represented the set of experimental testing performed within the target purpose. Satisfactory result values were stated within oil palm EFB fuel parameters, namely, moisture content M_c—7.07%, ash content A_c—9.41% and energy potential NCV—15.06 MJ∙kg⁻¹. Mechanical analysis of the produced bio-pellet fuel proved outstanding results: Volume density ρ—1440.01 kg∙m⁻³ and mechanical durability DU—97.4% and 99.4% (according to ÖNORM M 7135 (2003) and ISO 17831-1 (2015)). Furthermore, results of compressive strength σ proved the requested high level; in simple pressure σ_p—10.83 MPa and in cleft σ_c—60.46 N·mm⁻¹. Stereoscopic microscope measurements proved a prevalent proportion of fiber >97% within the feedstock content, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of bio-pellet samples diagnosed cracks purely on the outer surface, not within their internal structures, which indicated high quality compacted products. In conclusion, the overall evaluation indicates the production of environmental-friendly high quality bio-pellet fuel, thus, proving the suitability of oil palm EFB for the production of bio-pellet fuel. Full article