Pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass

Jiby KurianPh. D. Student

Bioresource Engineering

Lignocellulosic biomass

Cellulose 40-50 %

Hemicellulose 25-30%

Lignin 10-20%

Minerals 2-5%Others 2-5%

brae.calpoly.edu

Value addition to lignocellulosic biomass

Pre-treatment of lignocelluloses

Mosier et al., 2006

Types of pre-treatment processes

Pre-treatment Catalyst(s) usedAverage

Temperature & Time

Final Treatment (s)

Thermo-chemicalAcid, Alkali, H2O,

Solvents1500C,

2-60 min.Enzymatic hydrolysis

and fermentation

Biochemical Microorganisms, enzymes

300C, 24-72 hrs.

Fermentation

Thermal (Gasification)

------------------ 10000C, 2-30 min.

FT synthesis, Fermentation

Biofuel production: Today

Feedstock Harvesting Transporting

StoringPre-treatment and final processingbrae.calpoly.edu

The problems • Low density of the resource (0.1-0.2 kg/m3)

• Scarcity and variability

• Environmental issues

• Not economical

Biomasshub.com

The solution: On-the-site Pre-treatment (OP)

Biofuels

Bioproducts

Energy

Bio-refinery

Cellulose

Hemicellulose

Lignin

Minerals

On-the-site Pre-treatment

Farm Industry

The benefits of OP for farmers

• Additional jobs

• Rural development

• Sustainable biomass production

"Not mass production, but production by the masses." – M. K. Gandhi

The benefits of OP for industries

• Compact, purified and specific raw materials

• Availability of raw materials

• Less capital investment

My research work

Biomass On-the-site pre-treatment

Cellulose

Hemicellulose

Lignin

Minerals

Biofuels, & biomaterials

Solid fuel

Fertilizer

References • http://afdelingen.kiviniria.net/media-afdelingen/DOM100000178/

Presentaties/2011/Kersten_19-05-2011.pdf• Eranki et al., (2011) Advanced regional biomass processing depots: A key

to the logistical challenges to the cellulosic biofuel industry. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol 5(6), pp 621-630.

• http://www.businesschemistry.org/article/?article=121• Carolan et al., (2007) Technical and Financial Feasibility Analysis of

Distributed Bioprocessing Using Regional Biomass Pre-Processing Centers. Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization Vol. 5 [2007], Article 10

Acknowledgement

• Supervisor:

• Course instructor:

• Reviewers• Friends

THANK YOU!