Investigation of physicochemical characteristics of selected lignocellulose biomass

Abstract

The beneficial effects of biofuels as components of the worldwide energy supply are unquantifiable because they have versatile applications. However, an adequate understanding of the chemical properties of typical biomass is an integral aspect of maximizing the energy potentials because it is susceptible to biomass behavior during the conversion process, especially anaerobic digestion. Therefore, this study investigated the physicochemical characteristics of selected lignocellulose biomass, namely; cow dung, mango pulp, and Chromolaena odorata of Nigerian origin. The raw biomasses were characterized by proximate, calorific, ultimate, compositional, and microbial (for cow dung only) analyses using ASTM standards and equipment. Raw biomass characterization showed that cow dung, mango pulp, and Chromolaena odorata leaves recorded percentages; fixed carbon, volatile matter, and ash contents in addition to calorific values in the ranges of 6.22–7.25%, 5.02–7.79%, 1.14–1.91,% and 13.77–16.16 MJ/kg, respectively. The ultimate analysis of cow dung, mango pulp and Chromolaena odorata recorded carbon (43.08, 39.98, 41.69%); hydrogen (7.87, 6.74, 9.86%); nitrogen (1.53, 1.34, 1.51%); sulphur (0.46, 0.12, 0.25%) and oxygen (47.06, 51.82, 46.69%), respectively. Compositional analysis of the biomass gave percentages in the range of 7.47–11.37 for hemicellulose, 0.22–6.33 for lignin, and 3.71–12.03 for cellulose, while the microbial analysis of cow dung gave total bacteria counts of 5.78 × 108 and 3.93 × 105 cfu/g on wet and dry bases, respectively, which implied that it was rich in microbial colonies, evidently from the various species found, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aureginosa, Proteus morganii, and Micrococcus spp. In this regard, the physicochemical properties of selected biomass of Nigerian origin were established to conform with those of the literature and thus can be regarded as suitable feedstock for anaerobic digestion resulting in methane-rich biogas products.

Safety assessment of charcoal usage and effects of common charcoal ignition aiders on combustion indices

“…The percentage carbon content ranged between 46.28 and 75.19%, hydrogen (3.35–7.50%), nitrogen (0.03–0.90%), sulphur (0.01–7.00%) and oxygen (13.59–48.25%), while the calorific values for the ignition aiders range from 17.24 to 24.94 MJ/kg. Compared with the oxygen contents, the results revealed that all the ignition aiders have high carbon contents, consistent with previous studies on the characterisation of related biomass 41 . The interpretation is a directly proportional relationship between oxygen and carbon contents.…”

“…The possibility of releasing too many toxic gases characterised by oxides of nitrogen and sulphur that can inflict Charcoal users with adverse health complications is averted. The calorific values of the ignition aiders in the range 17.24–24.94 MJ/kg are quite impressive because it matches those obtained for a similar ultimate analysis of selected biomass by Fajobi et al 41 , although with just a slight difference. The difference could be due to the nature, sources, discrepancies in analytic processes, and chemical structure of the respective ignition aiders.…”

“…Fajobi et al . 41 , refer to a ternary plot as a triangular coordinate system that uses the edges of the triangle to depict its axes such that it corresponds to the composition of the three elements considered i.e., CO, and VOC. This plot required that the data were first normalised to 100% using the model in Eq.…”

“…The interpretation is a directly proportional relationship between oxygen and carbon contents. According to Fajobi et al 41 , due to harmful and toxic gases that accompany the combustion of fuel that has much percentage of nitrogen and sulphur, they are recommended to be in low quantities in fuels. In this connection, the percentage contents of nitrogen (0.03–0.90%), sulphur (0.01–7.00%) present in the ignition aiders are acceptable.…”

Rapid and Effective Lead Elimination Using Cow Manure Derived Biochar: Balance between Inherent Phosphorus Release and Pollutants Immobilization

“…CM is a valuable resource for the sustainable development of agriculture [ 9 ], and is mainly used as fertilizer, energy, and so on [ 10 ]. The contents of lignin and cellulose in CM are considerably higher than those in pig manure and chicken manure, which increases the fermentation time [ 11 ]. CM is rich in phosphorus, while the heavy metal content is lower than that of pig manure [ 12 ], so it is imperative to use CM with a high value.…”