Torrefaction has been investigated to improve the desirable properties of biomass as solid biofuel, usually used in natura as firewood in several countries. This paper has the main objective to present a broad characterization of the biomass Prosopis juliflora (P. juliflora), investigating its potential as a solid biofuel after its torrefaction process. The methodology was based on different procedures. The experimental runs were carried out at 230, 270, and 310 °C for 30 min, using a bench-scale torrefaction apparatus, with an inert atmosphere. In order to investigate the effect of temperature in constant time, torrefaction parameters were calculated, such as mass yield, energy yield, calorific value, base-to-acid ratio (B/A), and the alkaline index (AI). The physicochemical properties of the torrefied samples were determined and thermogravimetric analysis was used to determine the kinetic parameters at four different heating rates of 5, 10, 20, and 30 °C/min. Pyrolysis kinetics was investigated using the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) isoconversional methods. Highly thermally stable biofuels were obtained due to the great degradation of hemicellulose and cellulose during torrefaction at higher temperatures. The highest heating value (HHV) of the samples varied between 18.3 and 23.1 MJ/kg, and the energy yield between 81.1 and 96.2%. The results indicate that P. juliflora torrefied becomes a more attractive and competitive solid biofuel alternative in the generation of heat and energy in northeast Brazil.
Different classes of solvents such as mineral acids and ionic liquids have proved to be capable of disrupting hydrogen bonds among different polysaccharide chains. Recently, a specific family of proticionic liquids (PILs) has been developed with functionality in various industrial applications, adding to the benefits and advantages of their use, since they are absent of aromatic or halogenated molecular structure, making them structurally free of toxicity. This work aimed to verify the influence of proticionic liquids 2-HDEAS, 2-HEACi, 2-HEAL impregnated in the Prosopis juliflora (mesquite) biomass, through the thermogravimetric analysis of macrocomponents hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. Tests were performed in a simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis equipment under inert atmosphere, 100 mL/min of nitrogen, and 10 °C/min heating rate. It was verified that all PILs present great potential in the degradation and dissolution of the macrocomponent structure of Prosopis juliflora.
This article sought to investigate biomass torrefaction, analyzing the collaboration network between authors, institutions and countries in order to systematize the dynamics of scientific research on the subject. The systematic evaluation of the articles obtained in the scope of the research was important to provide an overview of the main stakeholders in the academic and institutional scope. This research is characterized as exploratory-descriptive of quantitative nature, whose technical procedure adopted was bibliometric research. A set of 662 documents were extracted from the main collection of Web of Science. The Vosviewer software was used to create scientific collaboration and co-citation networks. It was noted that the number of documents has been growing steadily since 2011, with a high degree of multidisciplinary collaboration and prolific contributions from American and Chinese researchers on this topic. The USA is the country with the largest number of publications (120 publications), followed by China (70 publications). There was a total of 1,894 authors and 594 institutions researching on biomass torrefaction, with SINTEF Energy Research - Norway having the largest number of publications, followed by National Cheng Kung University - Taiwan and Norwegian University of Science and Technology - Norway. The use of bibliometrics proposed here offers a systematic and dynamic approach to scientific research on biomass torrefaction. The identified groupings and collaboration networks presented a specific outline of the contents already published, authors, countries and institutions, in order to contribute as a starting point to future work in the field of biomass torrefaction.
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