eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
2
6
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.3
4745
Enzymatic saccharification of Tapioca processing wastes into biosugars through immobilization technology (Mini Review)
Nurul Aini Edama
aaabbbggg@yahoo.com
1
Alawi Sulaiman
asuitm@yahoo.com
2
Siti Noraida Abd. Rahim
3
Tropical Agro-Biomass Research Group, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Tropical Agro-Biomass Research Group, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Tropical Agro-Biomass Research Group, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Cassava is very popular in Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia. The global cassava production is currently estimated at more than 200 million tons and the trend is increasing due to higher demand for food products. Together with food products, huge amounts of cassava wastes are also produced including cassava pulp, peel and starchy wastewater. To ensure the sustainability of this industry, these wastes must be properly managed to reduce serious threat to the environment and among the strategies to achieve that is to convert them into biosugars. Later on, biosugars could be converted into other end products such as bioethanol. The objective of this paper is to highlight the technical feasibility and potentials of converting cassava processing wastes into biosugars by understanding their generation and mass balance at the processing stage. Moreover, enzyme immobilization technology for better biosugar conversion and future trends are also discussed.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4745_166b5360ea7dc6c2dbd18d6f153e0161.pdf
Enzymatic saccharification
Tapioca Starch Processing
Tapioca Agrowastes
Biosugars
Immobilization Technology
eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
7
15
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.4
4746
A review on the effect of proton exchange membranes in microbial fuel cells
Mostafa Rahimnejad
rahimnejad_mostafa@yahoo.com
1
Gholamreza Bakeri
bakeri@nit.ac.ir
2
Ghasem Najafpour
najafpour8@yahoo.com
3
Mostafa Ghasemi
rahimnejad@nit.ac.ir
4
Sang-Eun Oh
rahimnejad.mostafa@gmail.com
5
Biotechnology Research Lab., Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran
Biotechnology Research Lab., Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran
Biotechnology Research Lab., Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran
Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Kangwon-do, Republic of Korea
Microorganisms in microbial fuel cells (MFC) liberate electrons while the electron donors are consumed. In the anaerobic anode compartment, substrates such as carbohydrates are utilized and as a result bioelectricity is produced in the MFC. MFCs may be utilized as electricity generators in small devices such as biosensors. MFCs still face practical barriers such as low generated power and current density. Recently, a great deal of attention has been given to MFCs due to their ability to operate at mild conditions and using different biodegradable substrates as fuel. The MFC consists of anode and cathode compartments. Active microorganisms are actively catabolized to carbon sources, therefore generating bioelectricity. The produced electron is transmitted to the anode surface but the generated protons must pass through the proton exchange membrane (PEM) in order to reach the cathode compartment. PEM as a key factor affecting electricity generation in MFCs has been investigated here and its importance fully discussed.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4746_dd76514d51e420049d1d34eaa2773b9e.pdf
Microbial fuel cell (MFC)
Bioelectricity
Proton Exchange Membrane
eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
16
25
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.5
4747
A review on conversion of biomass to biofuel by nanocatalysts
Mandana Akia
akia.mandana@gmail.com
1
Farshad Yazdani
fyazdani@ccerci.ac.ir
2
Elahe Motaee
elahe.motaee@gmail.com
3
Dezhi Han
handezhi812@163.com
4
Hamidreza Arandiyan
hamid_arandiyan@yahoo.com
5
Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran (CCERCI), P.O. Box 4335-186, Tehran, Iran
Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran (CCERCI), P.O. Box 4335-186, Tehran, Iran
Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran (CCERCI), P.O. Box 4335-186, Tehran, Iran
Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chines Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, PR China
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
The world’s increasing demand for energy has led to an increase in fossil fuel consumption. However this source of energy is limited and is accompanied with pollution problems. The availability and wide diversity of biomass resources have made them an attractive and promising source of energy. The conversion of biomass to biofuel has resulted in the production of liquid and gaseous fuels that can be used for different means methods such as thermochemical and biological processes. Thermochemical processes as a major conversion route which include gasification and direct liquefaction are applied to convert biomass to more useful biofuel. Catalytic processes are increasingly applied in biofuel development. Nanocatalysts play an important role in improving product quality and achieving optimal operating conditions. Nanocatalysts with a high specific surface area and high catalytic activity may solve the most common problems of heterogeneous catalysts such as mass transfer resistance, time consumption, fast deactivation and inefficiency. In this regard attempts to develop new types of nanocatalysts have been increased. Among the different biofuels produced from biomass, biodiesel has attained a great deal of attention. Nanocatalytic conversion of biomass to biodiesel has been reported using different edible and nonedible feedstock. In most research studies, the application of nanocatalysts improves yield efficiency at relatively milder operating conditions compared to the bulk catalysts.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4747_2d41566e948b6d190487b47de4877ac9.pdf
Biomass
Biofuel
Nanocatalysts
gasification
Liquefaction
eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
26
29
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.6
4748
Improvement of the cold flow characteristics of biodiesel containing dissolved polymer wastes using acetone
Pouya Mohammadi
mohamadi_pouya@yahoo.com
1
Meisam Tabatabaei
meisam_tab@yahoo.com
2
Ali M. Nikbakht
alinikbakht87@yahoo.com
3
Zahra Esmaeili
4
Biofuel Research Team (BRTeam), Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), P.O. Box: 31535-1897, Karaj, Iran.
Biofuel Research Team (BRTeam), Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), P.O. Box: 31535-1897, Karaj, Iran.
Biofuel Research Team (BRTeam), Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), P.O. Box: 31535-1897, Karaj, Iran.
Department of Mechanical Engineering in Farm Machinery, Khuzestan Ramin Agriculture and natural resources University, Khuzestan , Iran.
Due to the fast fossil fuel depletion and at the same time global warming phenomenon anticipated for the next coming years, the necessity of developing alternative fuels e.g. biofuels (i.e. bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas and etc.) has turned into an important concern. Recently, the application of the bio-solvency properties of biodiesel for recycling waste polymers has been highlighted. However, the impact of polymer dissolution on cold flow characteristics of biodiesel was never investigated. The present study was set to explore the impact of different solvents in stabilizing biodiesel-polymer solution. Among them, acetone was proved to be the best fuel stabilizer. Subsequently, cold flow characteristic i.e. cloud point, of the biodiesel-polymer-acetone fuel was found to have improved (decreased) due to the inclusion of acetone. Finally, flash point analysis of the fuel blends containing acetone was done to ensured high safety of the fuel blend by dramatically increasing the flash point values of biodiesel-polymer fuel blends.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4748_1087066f82548a7363cd20d5201019bf.pdf
Biodiesel
Polymer wastes
Bio-solvency properties
Cold flow characteristic
Cloud point
Flash point
eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
30
33
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.7
4751
Biodiesel production using alkali earth metal oxides catalysts synthesized by sol-gel method
Majid Mohadesi
m.mohadesi@gmail.com
1
Zahra Hojabri
z_hojabri@yahoo.com
2
Gholamreza Moradi
moradi_m@yahoo.com
3
Catalyst Research Center, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Catalyst Research Center, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Catalyst Research Center, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Biodiesel fuel is considered as an alternative to diesel fuel. This fuel is produced through transesterification reactions of vegetable oils or animal fat by alcohols in the presence of different catalysts. Recent studies on this process have shown that, basic heterogeneous catalysts have a higher performance than other catalysts. In this study different alkali earth metal oxides (CaO, MgO and BaO) doped SiO2 were used as catalyst for the biodiesel production process. These catalysts were synthesis by using the sol-gel method. A transesterification reaction was studied after 8h by mixing corn oil, methanol (methanol to oil molar ratio of 16:1), and 6 wt. % catalyst (based on oil) at 60oC and 600rpm. Catalyst loading was studied for different catalysts ranging in amounts from 40, 60 to 80%. The purity and yield of the produced biodiesel for 60% CaO/SiO2 was higher than other catalysts and at 97.3% and 82.1%, respectively.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4751_dc8867dfdbf01af5d372d039bead31fb.pdf
Biodiesel
Polymer wastes
Bio-solvency properties
Cold flow characteristic
Cloud point
Flash point
eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
34
38
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.8
4749
Simultaneous electricity generation and sulfide removal via a dual chamber microbial fuel cell
Paniz Izadi
paniz_izadi@yahoo.com
1
Mostafa Rahimnejad
rahimnejad_mostafa@yahoo.com
2
Biotechnology Research Lab., Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran
Biotechnology Research Lab., Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have recently been used to alter different sources of substrates to produce bioelectricity. MFCs can also be used for wastewater treatment and electricity generation simultaneously. Sulfur compounds such as sulfides commonly exist in wastewater and organic waste. In this study a dual chamber MFC was constructed for power production. Sulfide was used as the electron donor in the anaerobic anode compartment. A mixed culture of microorganisms was used as an active biocatalyst to convert the substrate into electricity. The obtained experimental results illustrated that the MFC can successfully alter sulfide to elementary sulfur while generating power. The initial concentration of sulfide in the anode compartment was 0.4 g l-1 and it was completely removed after 3 days of MFC operation. The influence of oxygen was examined in the cathode chamber and the cell voltage gradually increased during aeration, reaching 480 mV after 1200 s. Hexacyanoferrate was added to the cathodic solution in different concentrations and its effects were investigated. The maximum generated voltage, power and current density were 988.9145 mV, 346.746 mW.m-2, 1285.64 mA.m-2, respectively and they were obtained in the presence of 1.4 g l-1 of mediator.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4749_7f170a2ce549b1ee18aee04b008ed77e.pdf
Fuel Cell
Bioelectricity
Power Density
Sulfide
Dual chamber
eng
Alpha Creation Enterprise
Biofuel Research Journal
2292-8782
2014-03-01
1
1
39
42
10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.9
4750
Edible oil mill effluent; a low-cost source for economizing biodiesel production: Electrospun nanofibrous coalescing filtration approach
Mohammad Javad A. Shirazi
mj.shirazi66@gmail.com
1
Saeed Bazgir
che.shirazi@gmail.com
2
Mohammad Mahdi A. Shirazi
mmahdiashirazi@yahoo.com
3
Nanopolymer Research Laboratory (NPRL), Department of Polymer Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Nanopolymer Research Laboratory (NPRL), Department of Polymer Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Department of Chemical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Biofuels have increased in popularity because of rising oil prices and the need for energy security. However, finding new raw sources for biodiesel production is still challenging. The oil which comes from wastewater effluent generated in edible oil mills (EOM) can be considered a low-cost, widely available, emerging and interesting source for biodiesel production. This study tries to improve the coalescing filtration by using electrospun nanofibrous filters for oil recovery from the EOM effluent. In order to improve the separation efficiency of the filters, thermal treatments (90oC to 150oC) were used. Results indicate that oil recovery using coalescing filtration is a promising method for providing a new source for making biodiesel production more economical.
https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_4750_982eaf7eb978ddd596759da5ba1c82b1.pdf
Biodiesel
Edible Oil
Electrospinning
Nanofibrous filters
Coalescing filtration