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Biomass is the most widely used non-fossil fuel in the world. Biomass resources show a considerable potential in the long-term given the increasing proliferation of dedicated energy crops for biofuels. The second edition of Biomass Gasification and Pyrolysis is enhanced with new topics, such as torrefaction and cofiring, making it a versatile resource that not only explains the basic principles of energy conversion systems, but also provides valuable insight into the design of biomass conversion systems. This book will allow professionals, such as engineers, scientists, and operating personnel of biomass gasification, pyrolysis or torrefaction plants, to gain a better comprehension of the basics of biomass conversion. The author provides many worked out design problems, step-by-step design procedures and real data on commercially operating systems. With a dedicated focus on the design, analysis, and operational aspects of biomass gasification, pyrolysis, and torrefaction, Biomass Gasification, Pyrolysis and Torrefaction, Second Edition offers comprehensive coverage of biomass in its gas, liquid, and solid states in a single easy-to-access source. Contains new and updated step-by-step process flow diagrams, design data and conversion charts, and numerical examples with solutions Includes chapters dedicated to evolving torrefaction technologies, practicing option of biomass cofiring, and biomass conversion economics Expanded coverage of syngas and other Fischer-Tropsch alternatives Spotlights advanced processes such as supercritical water gasification and torrefaction of biomass. Provides available research results in an easy-to-use design methodology

With continuous nitrogen (N) enrichment and sulfur (S) deposition, soil acidification has accelerated and become a global environmental issue. However, a full understanding of the general pattern of ecosystem belowground processes in response to soil acidification due to the impacting factors remains elusive. We conducted a meta-analysis of soil acidification impacts on belowground functions using 304 observations from 49 independent studies, mainly including soil cations, soil nutrient, respiration, root and microbial biomass. Our results show that acid addition significantly reduced soil pH by 0.24 on average, with less pH decrease in forest than non-forest ecosystems. The response ratio of soil pH was positively correlated with site precipitation and temperature, but negatively with initial soil pH. Soil base cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+) decreased while non-base cations (Al3+, Fe3+) increased with soil acidification. Soil respiration, fine root biomass, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were significantly reduced by 14.7%, 19.1%, 9.6% and 12.1%, respectively, under acid addition. These indicate that soil carbon processes are sensitive to soil acidification. Overall, our meta-analysis suggests a strong negative impact of soil acidification on belowground functions, with the potential to suppress soil carbon emission. It also arouses our attention to the toxic effects of soil ions on terrestrial ecosystems.

Anthropogenic global change alters the activity and functional composition of soil communities that are responsible for crucial ecosystem functions and services. Two of the most pervasive global change drivers are drought and nutrient enrichment. However, the responses of soil organisms to interacting global change drivers remain widely unknown. We tested the interactive effects of extreme drought and fertilization on soil biota ranging from microbes to invertebrates across seasons. We expected drought to reduce the activity of soil organisms and fertilization to induce positive bottom-up effects via increased plant productivity. Furthermore, we hypothesized fertilization to reinforce drought effects through enhanced plant growth, resulting in even drier soil conditions. Our results revealed that drought had detrimental effects on soil invertebrate feeding activity and simplified nematode community structure, whereas soil microbial activity and biomass were unaffected. Microbial biomass increased in response to fertilization, whereas invertebrate feeding activity substantially declined. Notably, these effects were consistent across seasons. The dissimilar responses suggest that soil biota differ vastly in their vulnerability to global change drivers. Thus, important ecosystem processes like decomposition and nutrient cycling, which are driven by the interdependent activity of soil microorganisms and invertebrates, may be disrupted under future conditions.

The combined use of organic manure and chemical fertilizer (CF) is considered to be a good method for sustaining high crop yields and improving soil quality. We performed a field experiment in 2019 at the research station of Guanxi University, to investigate the effects of cattle manure (CM) and poultry manure (PM) combined with CF on soil physical and biochemical properties, rice dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) accumulation and grain yield. We also evaluated differences in pre-and post-anthesis DM and N accumulation and their contributions to grain yield. The experiment consisted of six treatments: no N fertilizer (T 1 ), 100% CF (T 2 ), 60% CM + 40% CF (T 3 ), 30% CM + 70% CF (T 4 ), 60% PM + 40% CF (T 5 ), and 30% PM + 70% CF (T 6 ). All CF and organic manure treatments provided a total N of 150 kg ha −1 . Results showed that the treatment T 6 increased leaf net photosynthetic rate ( Pn ) by 11% and 13%, chlorophyll content by 13% and 15%, total biomass by 9% and 11% and grain yield by 11% and 17% in the early and late season, respectively, compared with T 2 . Similarly, the integrated manure and CF treatments improved post-antheis DM accumulation and soil properties, such as bulk density, organic carbon, total N, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) relative to the CF-only treatments. Interestingly, increases in post-anthesis DM and N accumulation were further supported by enhanced leaf Pn and activity of N-metabolizing enzyme during the grain-filling period. Improvement in Pn and N-metabolizing enzyme activity were due to mainly improved soil quality in the combined manure and synthetic fertilizer treatments. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed a strong relationship between grain yield and soil properties, and a stronger relationship was noted with soil MBC and MBN. Conclusively, a combination of 30% N from PM or CM with 70% N from CF is a promising option for improving soil quality and rice yield.

Although considerable progress has been made in direct synthesis gas (syngas) conversion to light olefins (C₂⁼−C₄⁼) via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), the wide product distribution remains a challenge, with a theoretical limit of only 58% for C₂–C₄ hydrocarbons. We present a process that reaches C₂⁼−C₄⁼ selectivity as high as 80% and C₂–C₄ 94% at carbon monoxide (CO) conversion of 17%. This is enabled by a bifunctional catalyst affording two types of active sites with complementary properties. The partially reduced oxide surface (ZnCrOx) activates CO and H₂, and C–C coupling is subsequently manipulated within the confined acidic pores of zeolites. No obvious deactivation is observed within 110 hours. Furthermore, this composite catalyst and the process may allow use of coal- and biomass-derived syngas with a low H₂/CO ratio.

Increased energy consumption stimulates the development of various energy types. As a result, the storage of these different types of energy becomes a key issue. Supercapacitors, as one important energy storage device, have gained much attention and owned a wide range of applications by taking advantages of micro-size, lightweight, high power density and long cycle life. From this perspective, numerous studies, especially on electrode materials, have been reported and great progress in the advancement in both the fundamental and applied fields of supercapacitor has been achieved. Herein, a review of recent progress in carbon materials for supercapacitor electrodes is presented. First, the two mechanisms of supercapacitors are briefly introduced. Then, research on carbon-based material electrodes for supercapacitor in recent years is summarized, including different dimensional carbon-based materials and biomass-derived carbon materials. The characteristics and fabrication methods of these materials and their performance as capacitor electrodes are discussed. On the basis of these materials, many supercapacitor devices have been developed. Therefore, in the third part, the supercapacitor devices based on these carbon materials are summarized. A brief overview of two types of conventional supercapacitor according to the charge storage mechanism is compiled, including their development process, the merits or withdraws, and the principle of expanding the potential range. Additionally, another fast-developed capacitor, hybrid ion capacitors as a good compromise between battery and supercapacitor are also discussed. Finally, the future aspects and challenges on the carbon-based materials as supercapacitor electrodes are proposed.

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, found in trees, waste from agricultural crops and other biomass. The fibres that comprise cellulose can be broken down into building blocks, known as fibrillated cellulose, of varying, controllable dimensions that extend to the nanoscale. Fibrillated cellulose is harvested from renewable resources, so its sustainability potential combined with its other functional properties (mechanical, optical, thermal and fluidic, for example) gives this nanomaterial unique technological appeal. Here we explore the use of fibrillated cellulose in the fabrication of materials ranging from composites and macrofibres, to thin films, porous membranes and gels. We discuss research directions for the practical exploitation of these structures and the remaining challenges to overcome before fibrillated cellulose materials can reach their full potential. Finally, we highlight some key issues towards successful manufacturing scale-up of this family of materials. Opportunities for the application of fibrillated cellulose materials—which can be extracted from renewable resources—and broader manufacturing issues of scale-up, sustainability and synergy with the paper-making industry are discussed.

In the current study, the mechanistic understanding of the adsorption isotherm and thermodynamic aspects of cationic methylene blue (MB) dye adsorption onto cellulosic olive stones biomass from wastewater were investigated. The batch adsorption of MB onto the olive stones (black and green olive stones) was tested at a variety of pH, dye concentrations, temperatures, and biomass particle sizes. The adsorption thermodynamics such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy changes were also calculated. Moreover, the desorption studies of MB from the spent olive stones were studied to explore the re-usability of the biomasses. The results revealed that under the optimum pH of 10, the maximum MB uptake was achieved i.e. 80.2% for the green olive stones and 70.9% for the black olive stones. The green olive stones were found to be more efficient in remediating higher MB concentrations from water than the black olive stones. The highest MB removal of the green olive stones was achieved at 600 ppm of MB, while the highest MB removal of the black olive stones was observed at 50 ppm of MB. Furthermore, for almost all the concentrations studied (50–1000 ppm), the MB adsorption was the highest at the temperature of 45 °C ( P value < 0.05). It was shown by the Fourier transform infrared that the electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding were proposed as dominant adsorption mechanisms at basic and acidic pH, respectively. While the hydrophobic-hydrophobic interaction was a dominant mechanism at neutral pH. The thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process was endothermic, spontaneous, and favorable. Moreover, the real wastewater experiment and the desorption studies showed that the green and black olive stones were a cost-effective and promising adsorbents for MB remediation from wastewater on account of their high adsorption and desorption removal capacities.

Humanity has become a dominant force in shaping the face of Earth 1 – 9 . An emerging question is how the overall material output of human activities compares to the overall natural biomass. Here we quantify the human-made mass, referred to as ‘anthropogenic mass’, and compare it to the overall living biomass on Earth, which currently equals approximately 1.1 teratonnes 10 , 11 . We find that Earth is exactly at the crossover point; in the year 2020 (± 6), the anthropogenic mass, which has recently doubled roughly every 20 years, will surpass all global living biomass. On average, for each person on the globe, anthropogenic mass equal to more than his or her bodyweight is produced every week. This quantification of the human enterprise gives a mass-based quantitative and symbolic characterization of the human-induced epoch of the Anthropocene. Estimates of global total biomass (the mass of all living things) and anthopogenic mass (the mass embedded in inanimate objects made by humans) over time show that we are roughly at the timepoint when anthropogenic mass exceeds total biomass.

•We review four promising biotechnological applications of electroporation.•Reversible electroporation is an efficient method for genetic transformation of microorganisms.•Irreversible electroporation allows the inactivation of microbes and the extraction of biomolecules.•Water release due to electroporation increases the efficiency of biomass drying. Electroporation is already an established technique in several areas of medicine, but many of its biotechnological applications have only started to emerge; we review here some of the most promising. We outline electroporation as a phenomenon and then proceed to applications, first outlining the best established – the use of reversible electroporation for heritable genetic modification of microorganisms (electrotransformation), and then explore recent advances in applying electroporation for inactivation of microorganisms, extraction of biomolecules, and fast drying of biomass. Although these applications often aim to upscale to the industrial and/or clinical level, we also outline some important chip-scale applications of electroporation. We conclude our review with a discussion of the main challenges and future perspectives.