Source: AUBURN UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
THE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FOR A BIOBASED INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1002082
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
S-1041
Project Start Date
Dec 1, 2013
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2018
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849
Performing Department
Biosystems Engineering
Non Technical Summary
Increasing the breath of renewable energy production systems includes the production of power and second-generation liquid biofuels, including biomass-derived power generation. Researchers in the S-1041 Multistate project are advancing this goal through research into most facets of bioenergy production systems.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
4020699202020%
5112099202010%
5112299202010%
5117110202010%
5113910202010%
5115399202015%
5117410202015%
5121899202010%
Knowledge Area
511 - New and Improved Non-Food Products and Processes; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment; 512 - Quality Maintenance in Storing and Marketing Non-Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
2099 - Sugar crops, general/other; 3910 - Cross-commodity research--multiple animal species; 7110 - Research on research management; 2299 - Miscellaneous and new crops, general/other; 5399 - Structures, facilities, and equipment, general/other; 1899 - Oilseed and oil crops, general/other; 7410 - General technology; 0699 - Trees, forests, and forest products, general;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
Develop deployable biomass feedstock supply knowledge, processes and logistics systems that economically deliver timely and sufficient quantities of biomass with predictable specifications to meet conversion process-dictated feedstock tolerances. Investigate and develop sustainable technologies to convert biomass resources into chemicals, energy, materials and other value added products. Develop modeling and systems approaches to support development of sustainable biomass production and conversion to bioenergy and bioproducts. Identify and develop needed educational resources, expand distance-based delivery methods, and grow a trained work force for the biobased economy
Project Methods
Objective A: Develop deployable biomass feedstock supply knowledge, processes and logistics systems that economically deliver timely and sufficient quantities of biomass with predictable specifications to meet conversion process-dictated feedstock tolerancesFlow properties will be determined due to influence on feedstock handling (AL, ND, TN). Preprocessing size reduction/grinding energy and particle spectra will be evaluated for fine grinds (AL, ND, TN). Energy content will be monitored since this indicates energy availability and feedstock quality (AL, MT, ND). Effect of storage environment, moisture relations, and feedstock quality will be analyzed (AL, ND, TN). Standard proximate chemical composition of feedstock (AL, MT) and rapid chemical analyses of feedstock, such as Fourier transform spectral techniques (AL, MT), will continue to be developed. Biomass chemical properties will be evaluated for selected types of biomass from different geographic/climatic regions (MT). Moisture content and particle size distribution of raw and preprocessed feedstock affect properties and will be incorporated into evaluations (AL, TN).Develop and evaluate harvest, pre-process, handling, densification, storage, and transport methods for specific biomass feedstock end-users (AL, ND and TN). This task develops the technology and information for efficient, scalable supply logistics applicable to various biomass materials, regions, and end uses. Emphasis is on the delivery of premium quality feedstock at low cost. New techniques for harvesting, processing, and handling include goals of assessing both packaged and bulk methods of materials handling (AL, TN). Determination of harvest equipment design specifications is addressed for biomass crops having yield and physical properties that exceed those of forage and hay crops (TN) and forest biomass (AL). Improved packaged handling technology is emphasized. Bulk handling techniques and commercial-scale compaction technology will be developed for low moisture perennial grasses (TN) and forest biomass (AL). Biomass size reduction and separation of plant botanical components will be undertaken for efficient energy use (AL, ND, TN). Characterization of binding and agglomeration properties of biomass to reduce costs associated with transport and handling will be undertaken. Harvest, collection, and transport options of biomass to estimate and reduce the delivered cost and energy consumption during the entire supply chain of biomass resources will be examined (AL, TN). Results and methods will be shared and communicated with researchers involved in Objective C such that data is incorporated into developed models.Objective B: Investigate and develop sustainable technologies to convert biomass resources into chemicals, energy, materials and other value added products.Develop pretreatment methods (AL, CA, GA, LA, MN, MS, SD, WI and WV). AL, CA and MS will conduct pretreatment study to render feedstock more amenable to gasification. AL, GA, WV, and MN will study thermochemical conversion of biomass integrated with novel torrefaction pretreatment technologies. Specifically, the impact of torrefaction pretreatment on fast pyrolysis and gasification technologies will be investigated by GA. Energy and economic analyses of torrefaction pretreatment technology for woody biomass and energy crops such as energy cane, napier grass, switchgrass and miscanthus will be conducted in SD. WV and WI will study the hot water extraction and leaching processes to improve conversion efficiency. LA will investigate rapid feedstock drying to very low moisture contents using microwave technology. MN will investigate pretreatment of feedstock prior to microwave pyrolysis. MS will perform biomass pretreatment prior to fast pyrolysis in order to maximize anhydrosugar production.Develop conversion processes (AL, GA, IN, LA, MN, MS, NE, OH, OK SD, TN, TX WI and WV). Electricity, heat, and power (AL, MN, MS, OH, OK, WV); fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, mixed alcohol, ester, solid and gas fuels (AL, MN, MS, NE, OH, OK, TX, WI, WV); and, chemicals and materials, such as polyurethane, composite, plastic, coating, fiber, rubber, asphalt, biochar (GA, IN, LA, MN, MS, OH, OK, TX, WI, WV) will be investigated. Biomass gasification, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal liquefaction processes will be conducted. Catalysts to deoxygenate biomass derived oxygenates will be developed (MN). In-situ catalytic conversion technologies will be evaluated to produce stable bio-oil, syngas, and selective chemicals (MN). The use of steam-air gasification and pyrolysis processes to produce syngas, bio-oil, biochar, and related products will be researched (NE). Electromagnetic technologies for rapid pyrolysis will be investigated. Direct conversion of algal biomass to liquid fuels through hydrothermal liquefaction and pyrolysis will be explored (MN). Fast microwave assisted pyrolysis and gasification will be investigated (MN). Conversion of cellulosic biomass and crude glycerol to biopolyols and polyurethane via atmospheric liquefaction process will be studied. Eco-friendly approach for fabricating nanofibers from cellulose and protein biomass will be developed (TX). The group also will investigate the use of catalysts in gasification, pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction for improved yield and bio-crude quality.Develop and improve catalytic upgrading processes to convert intermediates to high quality and stable liquid fuels and products. (AL, GA, MN, MS, WI and WV). Work on drop-in transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, from biomass feedstocks through catalytic conversion technology of intermediates will be continued. High-pressure hydro-treating and catalytic upgrading of stabilized bio-oil into green diesel and fuel additives will be studied.Objective D: Identify and develop needed educational, extension and outreach resources to promote the transition to a bio-based economy.Dissemination of technical information developed in Objectives A, B and C is critical for the development of biobased industries and economies. Formation of skilled workforce that is knowledgeable in biobased technology is an important component for the development and implementation of this novel economy.Serve as a knowledge resource base for bio-based economy(All states). This regional project will serve as an information and expertise clearinghouse for biomass-related knowledge and training by interfacing with organizations involved in research and development in the bio-based economy, such as USDA, DOE, NSF, and higher education institutions. Multi-State participants will serve as expert reviewers for the BRDI post-award site-visits; the ensuing reports will be available to general public, policy makers and business leaders through existing USDA outlets. Multi-State participants will contribute to existing and future biomass-related information sites, such as the Sun-Grant Bioweb.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Engineers, Scientists, Policymakers, K-12 and college students Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four graduate students obtained their degrees in area of biomass and bioenergy within this reporting period. 16 graduate students and 5 postdoctoral fellows are curently being trained. 4 undergraduate students were also trained during this reporting period. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, conferences, teaching of undergraduate and graduate students, K-12 visitation to Auburn University Biosystems Engineering department and through several outreach programs by the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to conduct research studies on biomass preprocessing and conversion of biomass to fuels, products and chemicals. Continue to provide educational opportunities to college students, K-12 students and to the general public on biomass and bioenergy.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: We continue to work on quantifying the properties of softwood and hardwood biomass that are important to the storage, preprocessing and transportation of these biomass feedstocks. For example, we are conducting studies on off-gas emission from woody biomass and on quantifying variability in physical and chemical attributes of loblolly pine trees. Objective 2: Studies we have conducted have focused on developing and validating models for biomass gasification, tar formation and syngas composition using experimental data from bubbling-bed fluidized-bed reactor, amd on effects of end products on fermentation performance of syngas fermentation. We have alos looked at developing a radio-frequency assiststed biomass pretreatment approach and further investigated the conversion of the pretreated biomass into polyhydroxybuyrate (PHB) and Acetone-butano-ethanol (ABE). Finally we are developing series of genetic engineering/genome engineering toolkits for engineering various microorganisms, and an acetic acid assisted pretreatment method for enhanced biomass pretreatment and biosolvent production. Objective 4: We have participated in three federally funded projects that involves training of undergraduate and graduate students for the biobased economy as follows: (a) NSF/IGERT ; (b) NSF/REU - Biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulosic biomass, and (c) SEED fellow program for undergraduate students - a part of the USDA-NIFA IBSS (Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply System). 61 undergraduate students are currently or have participated in these programs. Several graduate (M.S. and Ph.D. students) are also involved in the biomass and bioenergy programs at Auburn University. Other trained workforce activities include development and delivery of undergraduate and graduate courses, the development of procurement specialist course through the extension system, and hosting K-12 summer camp (for females, and for minority students).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Oginni*, O., Fasina, O., Adhikari, S. and Fulton, J. 2016. Physical and flow properties of fractionated loblolly pine grinds. Trans. ASABE. 59: 999-1008.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Olatunde*, O., Fasina, O., Adhikari, S., McDonald, T. and Duke, S. 2016. Size measurement method for loblolly pine grinds and influence on predictability of fluidization. Canadian Biosystems Engng. 58: 4.1-4.10.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dhiman*, J., Shrestha*, A., Fasina, o., Adhikari, S., Via, B. and Gallagher, T. 2015. Physical, ignition and volatilization properties of biomass feedstock dusts. Trans. ASABE 58: 1425-1437.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Olatunde*, G., Fasina, O., McDonald, T. and Duke, S. 2016. CFD modeling of ground loblolly pine wood fluidization. ASABE Annual Meeting Presentation, Orlando, FL. July 17-20.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Shrestha*, A., Fasina, O. and Wang, Z. 2016. Bench scale analysis of off-gas emissions from stored loblolly pine grinds. ASABE Annual Meeting Presentation, Orlando, FL. July 17-20
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wang, X., Zhang, Z.T., Wang, Y., Wang, Y.F. (2016) Production of polyhydroxybuyrate (PHB) from switchgrass pretreated with a radio frequency-assisted heating process. Biomass and Bioenergy. 94: 220-227.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Seo, S.O., Wang, Y., Lu, T., Jin, Y.S., Blaschek., H.P. (2016) Characterization of a Clostridium beijerinckii spo0A mutant and its application for butyl butyrate production. Biotechnology & Bioengineering. doi: 10.1002/bit.26057.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Zhang, J., Taylor, S., Wang, Y*. (2016) Effects of end products on fermentation profiles in Clostridium carboxidivorans P7 for syngas fermentation. Bioresource Technology, 218: 1055-1063.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wang, Y., Zhang, Z.T., Seo, S.O., Lynn, P., Lu, T., Jin, Y.S., Blaschek., H.P. (2016) Bacterial genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9: deletion, integration, single nucleotide modification, and desirable clean mutant selection in Clostridium beijerinckii as an example. ACS Synthetic Biology. 5: 721-732.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wang, X., Zhang, Z.T., Wang, Y., Wang, Y.F. (2016) Improvement of Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) production from switchgrass pretreated with a radio frequency-assisted heating process. Fuel. 182: 166-173.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Zhang, J., Wang, S., Wang, Y.* Biobutanol production from renewable resources: recent advances. In Advances in Bioenergy. Y. Li, eds. Elsevier, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wang, Y., Zhang, Z.T., Seo, S.O., Lynn, P., Lu, T., Jin, Y.S., Blaschek., H.P. Efficient and precise genome editing and gene transcription repression in Clostridium beijerinckii using CRISPR-Cas9 system. Clostridium XIV-International Conference on the Genetics, Physiology and Synthetic Biology of Solvent- and Acid-forming Clostridia. Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, August 28-31, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Liao, C., Seo, S.O., Celik, V., Liu, H., Kong, W., Wang, Y., Blaschek, H.P., Jin, Y.S., Lu. T. Integrative modeling of Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting. Minneapolis, MN, October 5-8, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wang, X., Zhang, Z.T., Wang, Y., Wang, Y.F. Production of polyhydroxybuyrate (PHB) from switchgrass pretreated with a radio frequency-assisted heating process. Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL, July 16-19, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wang, Y., Zhang, Z.T., Seo, S.O., Lynn, P., Lu, T., Jin, Y.S., Blaschek., H.P. Efficient and precise genome editing and gene transcription repression in Clostridium beijerinckii using CRISPR/Cas9 system. 38nd Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. Baltimore, MD, April 25-28, 2016.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sushil Adhikari Avanti Kulkarni* and Nourredine Abdoulmoumine*. 2016. Combustion in Bioenergy: Principles and Applications. Yebo Li and Samir Khanal (Ed.).Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 1118568311
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Narendra Sadhwani*, Sushil Adhikari, Mario Eden. Biomass gasification using carbon dioxide: Effect of temperature, CO2/C ratio and the study of reactions influencing the process Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Vol. 55 (10), pp 28832891.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Shaima Nahreen*, Supareak Praserthdam, Saul Perez Beltran, Perla B. Balbuena, Sushil Adhikari and Ram B. Gupta. Catalytic upgrading of methane to higher hydrocarbon in a non-oxidative chemical conversion. Energy & Fuels. Vol. 30(4), pp 25842593.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sushil Adhikari, Nourredine Abdoulmoumine* and Avanti Kulkarni*. 2016. Gasification in Bioenergy: Principles and Applications. Yebo Li and Samir Khanal (Ed.). Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 1118568311.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Nourredine Abdoulmoumine*, Sushil Adhikari, and Avanti Kulkarni. Effects of temperature and equivalence ratio on mass balance and energy analysis in loblolly pine oxygen gasification. Energy Science & Engineering. Vol. 4 (4), pp. 256-268.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Narendra Sadhwani*, Sushil Adhikari, Mario Eden, Zhouhong Wang, and Ryan Baker. Southern pines char gasification with CO2 - kinetics and effect of alkali and alkaline earth metals. Fuel Processing Technology. Vol. 150, pp. 64-70.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Zhouhong Wang*, Sushil Adhikari, Peter Valdez, Rajdeep Shakya* and Cassidy Laird. Upgrading of hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude from algae grown in municipal wastewater. Fuel Processing Technology. Vol.142, pp.147-156


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers, practicing engineers, students (formal classroom experience and undergraduate research experience), biofuel start up companies and the general public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has made it possible for 4 undergraduate students and 14 graduate students to conduct research related to biomass logisitics and conversion of biomass to fuels and products. Several high school students from southeast US also toured the biomass research facilities at Auburn University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through peer-reviewed publications, conference proceedings and presentations, engineering expo to K-12 students and at various public relations events at Auburn University, state of Alabama and southeastern region of United States. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue with the studies on biomass characterization, logistics including processing and storability Continue with studies on biomass gasification and pyrolysis and conversion of biomass to value-added products Continue to preparegraduate and undergraduate students for the bioeconomy workforce of the future, and provide bioenergy outreach to K-12 students, and the general public.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: We continue to work on quantifying the properties of softwood and hardwood biomass that are important to the storage, preprocessing and transportation of these biomass feedstocks. For example, we have conducted comparative studies on grinding and drying sequence for loblolly pine chips, and physical treatments to reduce ash in chips of woody biomass. We also conducted studies on fluidization properties of woody biomass feedstocks. Goal 2: Most of the studies we have conducted have focused on developing and validating models for biomass gasification, tar formation and syngas composition using experimental data from bubbling-bed fluidized-bed reactor. We continue to perform gasification studies on different biomass species (e.g. pine, eucalyptus, poplar, and switchgrass) with the goal of understanding the effect of biomass species/properties on syngas quality and contaminants (e.g. tar, and hydrogen sulfide), and with fate of these contaminants when gasification is conducted with different oxidizing media. Other projects being conducted that are related to this objective include biomass fast pyrolysis and hydrogen production from biobased materials. The impact from these projects is that we have developed information and models that will accurately predict syngas composition from biomass characteristics and gasifier operating parameters. Goal 4: The Alabama station is currently participating in three federally funded projects that involves training of undergraduate and graduate students for the biobased economy as follows: (a) NSF/IGERT ; (b) NSF/REU - Biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulosic biomass, and (c) SEED fellow program for undergraduate students - a part of the USDA-NIFA IBSS (Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply System). Twelve Ph.D. and 55 undergraduate students are currently or have participated in these programs. Several undergraduate and graduate (M.S. and Ph.D. students) are also involved in the biomass and bioenergy programs at Auburn University. Other trained workforce activities include development and delivery of undergraduate and graduate courses, the development of procurement specialist course through the extension system, and hosting K-12 summer camp (for females, and for minority students).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Goncalves, B, Till, D, Fasina, O., Tamang, B., Gallagher, T. 2015. Influence of bark on the physical and thermal decomposition properties of short rotation eucalyptus. BioEnergy Research. 8: 1414-1423.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Owen, K., Fasina, O., Taylor, S. and Adhikari, S. 2015. Technical Note: Thermal decomposition behavior of loblolly pine stemwood, bark and limbs/foliage using TGA and DSC techniques. Trans. ASABE. 58: 509-518.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Nourredine Abdoulmoumine, Sushil Adhikari, Avanti Kulkarni and Shyamsundar Chattanathan. 2015. A review on biomass gasification syngas cleanup. 2015. Applied Energy, Vol. 155, pp. 294-307.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Rajdeep Shakya, Janelle Whelen, Sushil Adhikari, Ravishankar Mahadevan and Sneha Neupane. 2015. Effect of temperature and Na2CO3 catalyst on hydrothermal liquefaction of algae. Algal Research. Vol. 12, pp. 80-90.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Jiang, W., Zhou, C.F., Via, B. and Fasina, O. 2015. Prediction of mixed hardwood lignin and carbohydrate content using ATR-FTIR and FT-NIR carbohydrate polymers. Carbohydrate Polymers 121: 336-341.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: L Cheng, S Adhikari, Z Wang, Y Ding. 2015. Characterization of bamboo species at different ages and bio-oil production. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 116, 215-222.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: J Meng, A Moore, DC Tilotta, SS Kelley, S Adhikari, S Park. 2015. Thermal and Storage Stability of Bio-Oil from Pyrolysis of Torrefied Wood. Energy & Fuels 29 (8), 5117-5126.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Acquah, G., Via, B., Fasina, O., and Eckhardt, L. 2015. Nondestructive prediction of the properties of forest biomass for bioenergy, fuel and chemical applications using near infrared spectroscopy. J. Near Infrared Spectroscopy 23: 93-102.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sneha Neupane, Sushil Adhikari, Zhouhong Wang, Art J. Ragauskas and Yunqiao Pu. 2015. Effect of torrefaction on biomass structure and hydrocarbons production from fast pyrolysis. Green Chemistry, 17(4), pp 2406-2417.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ravishankar Mahadevan, Rajdeep Shakya, Sneha Neupane and Sushil Adhikari. 2015. Physical and chemical properties and accelerated aging test of bio-oil produced from in-situ catalytic pyrolysis in a bench-scale fluidized bed reactor. Energy & Fuels 29 (2), pp 841848.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: L Cheng, S Adhikari, Z Wang, Y Ding. 2015. Dynamic Variation of Fuel Properties of Tonkin Cane (Pseudosasa amabilis) during Maturation. Energy & Fuels 29 (4), 2408-2415.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Y Celikbag, TJ Robinson, BK Via, S Adhikari, ML Auad. 2015. Pyrolysis oil substituted epoxy resin: Improved ratio optimization and crosslinking efficiency. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 132 (28)


Progress 12/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Researchers, practicing engineers, students (formal classroom experience and undergraduate research experience), biofuel start up companies and general public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The project has made it possible for 4 undergraduate and 12 graduate students to conduct research related to biomass logistics and thermochemical conversion of biomass to biofuels and bioproducts. Several high school students from southeast US also toured the biomass research facilities at Auburn University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through peer-reveiwed publications, conference proceedings and presentations, engineering expo for high school students, and various public relations events at Auburn University, and Alabama. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue with the studies on biomass characterization, logistics including processing, storability and energy requirement for communition. Continue with studies on biomass gasification and pyrolysis, biomass treatment for thermochemical processes and hydrogen production from biological materials. Continue with teaching and mentoring of graduate, undergraduate and K-12 students, and the general public in bioenergy.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The minimum hot surface ignition temperature varies from 292.5 °C to 302.5 °C and increased with increase in particle size. In general, risk of the dust samples to ignite was highest for fine dust fraction. Grinding screen size and moisture content significantly affect the amount of dust in ground loblolly pine wood. Up to 22% of the ground chips is in dust form and that about 7% dust will be produced from the typical conditions used to grind wood chips (moisture content of about 15% and hammer mill screen size of 3.18 mm). Catalyst acidity was found to be highly favorable for aromatic hydrocarbon production in the case of both raw and torrefied lignin pyrolysis. A high amount of aromatic hydrocarbons (∼35 wt % C) was produced from torrefied lignin pyrolysis using a zeolite catalyst with a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 30 at 600 °C. Under the same conditions, the total carbon yield from catalytic pyrolysis of torrefied lignin was about 46 wt %. The study showed that torrefaction favors high aromatic hydrocarbon production from catalytic pyrolysis of lignin. In the catalytic conversion of biogas to syngas study, the effect of H2S on the CH4 and CO2 conversions was studied by using three H2S concentrations. It was found that even with the introduction of 0.5 mol% H2S drastically reduced the CH4 and CO2 conversions from 67% and 87% to 19% and 22%, respectively. From the catalyst characterization work, it was observed that the coking reaction which was mainly dominant in the absence of H2S became less pronounced with the introduction of H2S while sulfur deposition reaction was more favored. Thus, based on the results of this study, it can be stated that neglecting the presence of H2S while investigating biogas reforming is not an accurate assumption.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Chattanathan*, S.A., Adhikari, S., McVey M. and Fasina O. 2014. Hydrogen production from biogas reforming and the effects of H2S on CH4 conversion. International J. of Hydrogen Energy 39: 19905-19911.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Adhikari, S., Srinivasan*, V. and Fasina, O. 2014. Catalytic pyrolysis of raw and thermally treated lignin using different acidic zeolites. Energy and Fuel 28: 4532-4538.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hehar*, G., Fasina, O., Adhikari, S. and Fulton, J. 2014. Heating and volatilization behavior of dusts from loblolly pine wood. Fuel Processing Technology- 127: 117-123.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Vaishnavi Srinivasan*, Sushil Adhikari, Shyamsundar Ayalur Chattanathan, Maobing Tu, Sunkyu Park. 2014. Catalytic pyrolysis of raw and thermally treated cellulose using different acidic zeolites. BioEnergy Research. DOI 10.1007/s12155-014-9426-8.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dhiman, J., Fasina, O., Via, B., Adhikari, S. and McDonald, T.P. 2014. Predicting heating and ignition risks of biomass dust using near infrared spectroscopy. ASABE Annual Meeting Presentation, Montreal, Canada, July 13-16.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Olatunde, G., Fasina, O., Adhikari, S. McDonald, T.P. and Duke, S.R. 2014. Moisture effect on fluidization behavior of ground loblolly pine wood. ASABE Annual Meeting Presentation, Montreal, Canada, July 13-16.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Owen, K., Fasina, O., Taylor, S., Rummer, B. Klepac, S. Adhikari, S. and Shrestha, A. 2014. Thermal decomposition behavior of bark, stemwood and limbs/foliage of loblolly pine wood. ASABE Annual Meeting Presentation, Montreal, Canada, July 13-16.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sushil Adhikari. 2014. Experiences from Undergraduate Research Program on Biofuels and Bioproducts at Auburn University presented at Annual International Meeting of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. July 13-16. Montreal, Canada.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sushil Adhikari and Steve Taylor. 2014. Undergraduate bioenergy education through the SEED fellowship presented at Annual International Meeting of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. July 13-16. Montreal, Canada.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: L. Cheng*, Y. Ding, S. Adhikari. 2014. Characterization of bamboo species, pesedosasa amabilis, for bioenergy applications presented at Annual International Meeting of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. July 13-16. Montreal, Canada.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Oginni, O.J., Fasina, O., Adhikari, S. and Fulton, J.P. 2014. Flow and physical properties of fractionated ground loblolly pine. ASABE Annual Meeting Presentation, Montreal, Canada, July 13-16.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sneha Neupane, Sushil Adhikari, Zhouhong Wang. Catalytic pyrolysis of torrefied biomass for hydrocarbon production presented at Symposium on Thermal and Catalytic Sciences for Biofuels and Bio-based Products, Denver, CO. September 2-5, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sneha Neupane and Sushil Adhikari. Effect of torrefaction on biomass structure and product yield from fast pyrolysis of pine presented at Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)Biomass 2014: Growing the Future Bio-economy, Washington D.C. July 29-30. 2014
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Rajdeep Shakya*, S. Adhikari. 2014. Hydrothermal liquefaction of algae for biofuels production presented at Annual International Meeting of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. July 13-16. Montreal, Canada.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sneha Neupane*, S. Adhikari. 2014. Effect of Torrefaction temperature and time on product distribution from fast pyrolysis of pinewood presented at Annual International Meeting of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. July 13-16. Montreal, Canada.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dongxu Cao, Maobing Tu, Rui Xie, Jing Li, Yonnie Wu and Sushil Adhikari. 2014. Inhibitory activity of carbonyl compounds on alcoholic fermentation by saccharomyces cerevisiae. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2014, 62, pp 918-926
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Vaishnavi Srinivasan*, Sushil Adhikari, Shyamsundar Ayalur Chattanathan, Maobing Tu, Sunkyu Park. 2014. Catalytic pyrolysis of raw and thermally treated cellulose using different acidic zeolites. BioEnergy Research. DOI 10.1007/s12155-014-9426-8.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Nourredine Abdoulmoumine*, Avanti Kulkarni*, and Sushil Adhikari. 2014. Effect of temperature and equivalence ratio on primary gases and contaminants in a bench-scale fluidized bed gasifier from pine. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2014, 53 (14), pp 57675777.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Daniel Mullenix, Sushil Adhikari, Max Runge, Timothy McDonald, Ahjeong Sun, Mark Dougherty and John Fulton. Small-scale biodiesel production: a case study of on-farm economics. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 2014. 30(4), pp. 585-592.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Yusuf Celikbag, Brian Via, Sushil Adhikari and Yonnie Wu. Effect of Liquefaction Temperature on Hydroxyl Groups of Bio-oil from Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda). Bioresource Technology. BITE-D-14-03421R1