Irradiation Pretreatment of Tropical Biomass and Biofiber for Biofuel Production

Abstract

Interest on biofuel production from biomass and biofiber has gain great attention globally because these materials are abundant, inexpensive, renewable, and sustainable. Generally, the conversion of biomass and biofiber to biofuel involves several processes including biomass production, pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation. Selecting the most efficient pretreatment is crucial to ensure the success of biofuel production since pretreatment has been reported to contribute substantial portion on the production cost. The main goal of the pretreatment is to enhance digestibility of the biomass and biofiber, and to increase sugar production prior to fermentation process. To date, several pretreatment methods have been introduced to pretreat biomass and biofiber including irradiation. This book chapter reviews and discusses different leading irradiation pretreatment technologies along with their mechanism involved during pretreatment of various tropical biomass and biofiber. This chapter also reviews the effect of irradiation pretreatment on the biomass and biofiber component, which could assist the enzymatic saccharification process.

Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Materials as Substrates for Fermentation Processes

“…Production of biofuel from renewable resources, such as biomass and biofiber, gained great attention to partially replace fossil fuels in the future, as rapid population growth leads to environmental problems. Issues concerning sustainability are more often concerned when analyzing new potential energy sources [ 167 ].…”

Filament spinning of unbleached birch kraft pulps: Effect of pulping intensity on the processability and the fiber properties

“…Pre-hydrolyzed birch kraft pulp and pine kraft paper pulp were selected as model pulps that were treated together with H25 and H50 by E-beam dosages from 5 to 30 kGy. E-beam treatment -especially at such low irradiation intensity -was expected to not alter the chemical compositions of the pulps (Imamura, Murakami, & Ueno, 1972;Kassim et al, 2016;Kristiani et al, 2016). Figure 1 presents the intrinsic viscosity of the original and the E-beam treated kraft pulps as a function of the irradiation dosages.…”

Role of advanced oxidation processes in lignocellulose pretreatment towards biorefinery applications: a review on emerging trends and economic considerations

“…The energy ranges of industrial electron accelerators are typically categorised into low (80-300 keV), middle (300-5 MeV), and high (over 5 MeV) categories. 140 LCB is subjected to a high-voltage stream of electrons. By altering the dose of radiation given during this pretreatment, the electron energy can be managed and adjusted.…”