Progress 02/15/17 to 02/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Academia in both wood scienceand sensor, Pyrolysis industry, Wood industry, Sensor industry Changes/Problems:In the proposal, we proposed to test three gases, CO, CO2 and H2. We have completed the development and modeling of CO2 and H2 using the triple Gaussian function and they have been successful. However, we are not able to collect data for the CO in our experiments since the company who provided us the CO2 and H2 sensors stoppedproviding the CO sensor due to Covid 19. We have also tried other companies and alternatives, but so far we haven't obtained teh CO sensor. We will continue to find the proper CO sensor for testing our model when it is available. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the project, we graduate one Ph.D. student (currently a post-doc working in the same direction), and three post-doc have been partially supported from the project. Another Ph.D. partially supported from this project is being graduate in Fall 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?For the past years, we have been participating the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) annual convention inclduing the recent one heldin Kingscliff, Australia. These presentations have received attention and valuablefeedbacks from the peers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have successfully developed a selective H2 sensing system by using lanthanum (La) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film, through which the reversal activity of carrier is being studied for temperature dependence H2 sensing. In this study, a p-type carrier reversal activity is successfully revealed in the presence of H2 gas species, which predominantly depends on the operating temperature and doping concentration of lanthanum. Sensors are successfully fabricated and synthesized as pure and La doped ZnO by using a sol-gel route. Experiments have been designed and carried out to characterize the developed sensors. Compared to other candidates, the 5 at. % La doped ZnO thin film is verified to present an outstanding H2 sensitivity up to 400%, responding to a wide range of H2 concentration (approximately 10-500 ppm) with a sensitivity of 0.9 (~n). Moreover, H2 gas sensing selectivity and mixed gas sensing performance were investigated in the presence of CO and CO2 gas species at an optimized operational temperature at 300°C. We have also observed that the pure and 1-3 at. % La doped ZnO exhibited n-type H2 gas sensing, while t-type sensing behavior is associated with 5 and 10 at. % La doped ZnO thin film at the optimal operational temperature, 300°C. In addition, O- species are observed extremely active to CO gas sensing at 250°C. Besides, some other achievements and progress are summarized as below, (1) Investigation of solid-state thin film gas sensors for H2 sensing with La doped ZnO thin film, which is also the preliminary investigation and prerequisite for piezoelectric gas sensor sensitivity improvement. (2) Experimental setup upgrade for mixed gas species high temperature gas sensing. (3) Research on the gas sensor development results in three high impact peer-reviewed journal publications. We have used the commercial CO2 and H2 sensors to real time monitor the gases coming out from the furnace during the pyrolysis process. We design and build a sensor array for the gas monitoring system. Through the support of USDA, we have great understanding of the gas emissions during the pyrolysis of biomass. The gas emission process is elucidated through our work, and these had been published in journals and presented in professional conferences. We developed a triple Gaussian model using the gas emission data from the sensor monitoring during the pyrolysis process. The model has been successfully used to describe the gas emission processes for CO2 and H2 during the pyrolysis of biomass. It will provide a good control of the pyrolysis process, so that the pyrolysis efficiency will be significantly improved. The model has been validated through the lab testing. In the meantime, we have established a relationship between the gases detected from the gas sensors and those analyzed from the GC-MS. The data is presented at the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) annual convention in Kingscliff, Australia, and received great feedback from the peers. This work is being submitted to a high impact journal, Bioresource Technology for the publication.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Lee M. Smith, Yuan Cao, Sheldon Q. Shia, Xinrong Li, Weihuan Zhao. 2023. Modeling of Gas Production During Pyrolysis of Biomass with Triple Gaussian Function. Bioresource Technology
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Lee Smith and Sheldon Q. Shi. 2022. Real Time Gas Modeling For Biomass Pyrolysis Using Triple Gaussian Functions. 65th International Annual Convention of Society of Wood Science and Technology, Pepper Salt Resort, Kingscliff, NSW, July 10-15, (Presented by Lee Smith)
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Progress 02/15/21 to 02/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:We have applied for a no cost extension. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the past year, the fund has supported one full time Ph.D. student, Lee Smith, who has graduated in Fall 2021. The fund also partially supported another Ph.D. student, Sujata Mandal who graduated in Summer 2021. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have attended the SWST 64th International Convention, Little America Hotel, Flagstaff, AR. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Complete the manuscript submissions for the pyrolysis modeling work on CO2 and H2 (Q1) Obtain the proper CO1 sensor to be included in our sensor array box, so that the real time monitoring of CO can be implemented (Q1) Fabricate the high temperature sensor (focusing on CO2 sensor) developed from the prior effort (Q1) Test on the sensor array with the CO, and generate data for the CO emission during the pyrolysis process (Q2 and Q3) Test the developed high temperature sensor in the furnace for performance, and correlated to the measurements from the sensor array (Q2&Q3) Summary and analyze the data collected on the CO and high temperature CO2 sensor, and come up with manuscript for publications (Q4)
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the last reporting period in 2021, because of the Covid-19, some lab activities are limited. However, we have made a great progress on the topic of pyrolysis modeling using the gas emission data from the sensor monitoring during the pyrolysis process. We developed a triple Gaussian model, which is successfully used to describe the gas emission processes. The developed model has successfully predicted the CO2 and H2 emission processes during the pyrolysis of biomass, from which the operator will have a better control of the pyrolysis process, so that the pyrolysis efficiency is significantly improved. In the meantime, we have established a relationship between the gases detected from the gas sensors and those analyzed from the GC-MS. The data has been summarized into a manuscript, which has been submitted for publication.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
1. Wenliang Wang, Xubiao Wang, Zhenhao Ma, Chao Duan, Shiwei Liu b, Hailong Yu, Xinping Li, Liping Cai, Sheldon Q. Shi, and Yonghao Ni. 2021. Breaking the lignin conversion bottleneck for multiple products: Co-production of aryl monomers and carbon nanospheres using one-step catalyst-free depolymerization. Fuel. 285 (doi: 10.1016/j.fuel.2020.119211)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
2. Wenliang Wang, Zhenhao Ma, Xingjin Zhao, Shiwei Liu, Liping Cai, Sheldon Q. Shi, and Yonghao Ni. 2020. Effect of Various Microwave Absorbents on the Microwave-Assisted Lignin Depolymerization Process. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 8: 16086-16092 (doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c04658)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
3. Lee M. Smith, Sujata Mandal, Yuan Cao, Jiayo Hua, Changlei Xia, Sheldon Q. Shi, Xinrong Li, Haifeng Zhang, Jose Calderone. 2021. Impact of Gas Concentrations on the Self-Activation of Southern Yellow Pine As it Undergoes Pyrolysis. Wood and Fiber Science. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Lee Miller Smith. 2021. REAL TIME GAS MONITORING AND MODELING ON
THE PYROLYSIS PROCESS OF BIOMASS. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of North Texas.
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Progress 02/15/20 to 02/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the project is the biomass pyrolysis industries, high temperature furance manufacturers, as well as the gas sensor manuscturers. Changes/Problems:We originally proposed to develop a high temperature sensor up to 1000 C. Currently, we have developed and fabricated a sensor up to 700 C. It sppearedthat to achieve >1000 Cgoal, it required more work on the fabrication, which needed more budget to achieve it. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?For the past year, the project has supported a post-doc, and a Ph.D. student. The post-doc has completed his term working on the project. The Ph.D. is expected to graduate next year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results are being published in the peer reviewed journals to draw interests from the public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next period, we will have one Ph.d. student graduate. We will test the sensor developed through our real time monitoring system. We will publishour work on the real time gas sensoring technology. We will present the results in the professional conferences.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have made remarkable progress in the topic of gas sensing and gas collection. We have successfully developed a selective H2 sensing system by using lanthanum (La) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film, through which the reversal activity of carrier is being studied for temperature dependence H2 sensing. In this study, a p-type carrier reversal activity is successfully revealed in the presence of H2 gas species, which predominantly depends on the operating temperature and doping concentration of lanthanum. Sensors are successfully fabricated and synthesized as pure and La doped ZnO by using a sol-gel route. Experiment have been designed and carried out to characterize the developed sensors. Compared to other candidates, the 5 at. % La doped ZnO thin film is verified to present an outstanding H2 sensitivity up to 400%, responding to a wide range of H2 concentration (approximately 10-500 ppm) with a sensitivity of 0.9 (~n). Moreover, H2 gas sensing selectivity and mixed gas sensing performance were investigated in the presence of CO and CO2 gas species at an optimized operational temperature at 300°C. We have also observed that the pure and 1-3 at. % La doped ZnO exhibited n-type H2 gas sensing, while t-type sensing behavior is associated with 5 and 10 at. % La doped ZnO thin film at the optimal operational temperature, 300°C. In addition, O- species are observed extremely active to CO gas sensing at 250°C. We have set up a real time gas collection device. Through the project, we also looked into some other pyrolysis techniques, including microwave pyrolysis. Besides, some other achievements and progress are summarized as below, Investigation of solid state thin film gas sensors for H2 sensing with La doped ZnO thin film, which is also the preliminary investigation and prerequisite for piezoelectric gas sensor sensitivity improvement. Experimental setup upgrade for mixed gas species high temperature gas sensing. Experimental setup on the real time gas detection device. The device will be used to detect the gases from the pyrolysis process at different process parameters.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Ghosh, A., Zhang, C., Ju, S. and Zhang, H., 2020. Selective H2 sensing using lanthanum doped zinc oxide thin film: A study of temperature dependence H2 sensing effect on carrier reversal activity. Journal of Applied Physics, 128(9), p.094504.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Zhang, C., Ghosh, A., Zhang, H. and Shi, S.Q., 2019. Langasite-based surface acoustic wave resonator for acetone vapor sensing. Smart Materials and Structures, 29(1), p.015039.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Yingji Wu, Shengbo Ge, Changlei Xia, Changtong Mei, Ki-Hyun Kim, Liping Cai, Lee M. Smith, Jechan Lee, Sheldon Q. Shi. 2020. Application of intermittent ball milling to enzymatic hydrolysis for efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into glucose. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 136 (2021) 110442 (doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110442)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Wenliang Wang, Xubiao Wang, Zhenhao Ma, Chao Duan, Shiwei Liu b, Hailong Yu, Xinping Li, Liping Cai, Sheldon Q. Shi, and Yonghao Ni. 2021. Breaking the lignin conversion bottleneck for multiple products: Co-production of aryl monomers and carbon nanospheres using one-step catalyst-free depolymerization. Fuel. 285 (doi: 10.1016/j.fuel.2020.119211)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Wenliang Wang, Zhenhao Ma, Xingjin Zhao, Shiwei Liu, Liping Cai, Sheldon Q. Shi, and Yonghao Ni. 2021. Effect of Various Microwave Absorbents on the Microwave-Assisted Lignin Depolymerization Process. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. (Submitted)
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Progress 02/15/19 to 02/14/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Several publications have beenproduced during the year 2019. The audiences would be mainly the academic scholars and other readers of these papers. Changes/Problems:Based on our current lab condition, the maximum temperature of our developed sensor would be about 700 - 800 oC. They are under calibrations. We have developed a system using the CO2 and H2 sensors for the real time monitoring. The incorporation of CO sensor would be additional challenge. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Education and lab tour for inner and outer visitors, including undergraduate/graduate students, national lab scientists, and professors in the relating areas How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been presented in several professional conferences What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Calibration of the developed gas sensor 2. Testing of the gas sensors in our pyrolysis furnace
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Prototype SAW/solid state gas sensor was developed. Sensor holder, MFCs and controllers, sensing chamber, data acquisition, signal processing, and LabVIEW program were developed. The real time CO2 and H2 monitoring experiments were established. A manuscript is under development.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Zhang, C., Ghosh, A., Zhang, H. and Shi, S., 2019. Langasite-based surface acoustic wave resonator for acetone vapor sensing. Smart Materials and Structures.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Zhang, C., Ghosh, A., Wang, J. and Zhang, H., 2019. Sensitivity analysis of multilayered C-axis inclined zigzag zinc oxide thin-film bulk acoustic resonators for CO2 concentration monitoring. Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, pp.1-10
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ma, X., Smith, LM., Cai, L., Shi, SQ., Li, H., Fei, B. 2019. Preparation of high-performance activated carbons using bamboo through one-step pyrolysis, BioResources 14(1), 688-699.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Wang, W., Wang, M., Huang, J., Li, X., Cai, L., Shi, S.Q., Cui, Y., Chen, L. High efficiency pyrolysis of used cigarette filters for ester-rich bio-oil through micro-wave-assisted heating, Journal of Cleaner product
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Wang, W., Wang, M. Li, X., Cai, L., Shi, S., Duan, C., Ni, Y. Microwave-assisted catalytic cleavage of C-C bond in lignin models by bifunctional Pt/CDC-SiC, Journal: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Smith, L M, Shi, S. Q., Shi, J., Wang, C. Tan, Y., and Zhou, H. 2020. Effect of Wood Species on the Pore Volume and Surface Area of Activated Carbon Derived From the Self Activation Process. Wood and Fiber Science
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Zhang, C., Ghosh, A. and Zhang, H., 2019, March. Langasite-based BAW resonator coated with ZnO for high temperature CO2 gas sensing with temperature compensation (Conference Presentation). In Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2019 (Vol. 10970, p. 109702B). International Society for Optics and Photonics.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ghosh, A., Zhang, C. and Zhang, H., 2019, March. CO2 sensing characteristics of SAW sensor operated at high temperature. In Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2019 (Vol. 10970, p. 109702A). International Society for Optics and Photonics.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ghosh, A., Zhang, C., Shi, S. and Zhang, H., 2019. High temperature CO2 sensing and its cross-sensitivity towards H2 and CO gas using calcium doped ZnO thin film coated langasite SAW sensor. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 301, p.126958.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ghosh, A., Zhang, C., Zhang, H. and Shi, S., 2019. CO2 Sensing Behavior of Calcium-Doped ZnO Thin Film: A Study To Address the Cross-Sensitivity of CO2 in H2 and CO Environment. Langmuir, 35(32), pp.10267-10275.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ghosh, A., Zhang, C., Shi, S.Q. and Zhang, H. 2019. High?temperature gas sensors for harsh environment applications: a review. CLEANSoil, Air, Water.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Smith, L and Shi, S. Q. 2019. Impact of gas concentrations on the self-activation of wood biomass throughout its processing. SWST 62nd International Convention, October 20 25.
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Progress 02/15/18 to 02/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Professionals in the biofuel and bioenergy areas reached us for the details of the project. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have two post-docs involved in the project, one is on the high temperature sensor developent, and another is on the production efficiency modeling for pyrolysis. ne Ph.D. student is working on the real time monitoring system from the sensors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A marketing article has been published as a UNT news titled "UNT professor's latest invention heats up biofuel research" https://engineering.unt.edu/news/unt-professors-latest-invention-heats-biofuel-research. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Fabrication of gas sensing unit to be operated at very high temperature range of 500 to 1000 oC. Gas sensing properties of calcium doped ZnO coated langasite based SAW sensor at various operating temperature (200 to 1000 oC). Development of a wireless carbon nanotube-enhanced surface acoustic wave (SAW) gas sensor based on high temperature piezoelectric material-langasite. Using the developed high temperature gas sensor, estimate the concentrations of the changes in major gases during the biomass pyrolysis process, to optimize the pyrolysis process by improving the quality and increasing yield of the pyrolysis products.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have conducted preliminery tests on real time monitoring using commercial gas sensors at room temperature. Two gas sensors, CO2 sensor and H2 sensor, and two biomass materials, Southern yellow pine wood and hemp core, were used in this experiments. The tests were under four dwelling temperatures of pyrolysis, i.e., 650 °C, 850 °C, 1050 °C, and 1250 °C, and three ramping rates, i.e., 4 ºC/min, 6 ºC/min, and 8 ºC/min.The experimental results indicated that both CO2 and H2 Sensors worked wellto real-time determine the concentrations of the changes in CO2 and H2 gases during the biomass pyrolysis process. We have successfully developed high temperature CO2 sensor and testedthe sensor performance up to 500 oC. The work is being summaried. Twomanuscripts are being developed based on the work: "LGS SAW sensors for acetone sensing" and Calcium doped ZnO sensors to differentiate the gas molecules of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon monoxide.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Wang, W., Li, X., Ye, D., Cai, L., Shi, QS. 2018. Catalytic pyrolysis of larch sawdust for phenol-rich bio-oil using different catalysis. Renewable Energy, 121 (2018) 146-152
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Cai, L., Xia, C., Shi, S.Q., Zhang, H. 2018. A review of biomass pyrolysis modeling: Focus on prediction of product yields and validation, Fuel
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Smith, M. L., Shi, S. Q. and Shi, J. 2018. Effect of wood species on the pore volume and surface area of activated carbon derived from the self activation process. Carbon.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Zhang, H. High temperature gas sensor for harsh environment application: a review. Sensor and Actuator
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Smith, M. L., Cao, Y., Shi, S.Q. and Li, X. 2018. Real-Time Sensor Monitoring of Emitted Gases for the Pyrolysis Process of Biomass. SWST/JWRS International Convention, SOCIETY of Wood Science & Technology, Nagoya, Japan
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Progress 02/15/17 to 02/14/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the project is the biomass pyrolysis industries, high temperature furance manufacturers, as well asthe gas sensor manuscturers. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. We have hired a part-time post-doc to work on the project 2. We hired a Ph.D. student to work on the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The local pyrolysis company, Freestone Resources, LLC has expressed interest in the developed technology. The personnel from this company is a member of the advisory board for the project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Continuous to develop the high temperature sensors 2. Testthe commercial gas sensors to provide the real time monitoring process during the biomass to carbon conversion
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. The high temperature sensor is under development 2. We have used the commercial CO2 sensor to real time monitor the gases coming out from the furance during the pyrolysis process. There will be a few publications coming out from this work 3. We have studied the mechanism for the generation of activated carbon and biofuel using the traditional gas monitoring, and generated two publications. 4. We have conducted a comprehensive review on the topic, and the manuscript was submitted for publication.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Geng, J., Li, L., Wang, W., Chang, J., Xia, C., Cai, L. and Shi, SQ. 2017. Fabrication of Activated Carbon Using Two-Step Co-Pyrolysis of Used Rubber and Larch Sawdust, BioResources 12(4), 8641-8652
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Li, L., Chang, J., Cai, L., and Shi, SQ. 2017. Activated Carbon Monolith Derived from Polymer and Fast Pyrolytic Char: Effect of Bio-Oil Phenol-Formaldehyde, BioResources 12(4), 7975-7985
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Cai, L., Xia, C., Shi*, S.Q., Zhang, H. 2018. A review of biomass pyrolysis modeling: Focus on prediction of product yields and validation, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews,
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Wang, W., Lia, X., Ye, D., Cai, L., Shi, Q.S. 2018. Catalytic Pyrolysis of Larch Sawdust for Phenol-rich Bio-oil Using Different Catalysts, Renewable Energy
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Cai, L., Shi, Q. S., Smith, L. 2017. Modeling of co-pyrolysis of sawdust and waste rubber, International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO) Division 5 Conference, Division 5, Vancouver, BC, Canada, June 1216, 2017
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Smith, M. L., Shi, S.Q. and Cai, L. 2017. Determination of activated carbon surface areas of various wood species, International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO) Division 5 Conference, Division 5, Vancouver, BC, Canada, June 1216, 2017
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