Abstract
Feedstock variability is a significant barrier to the scale-up and commercialization of lignocellulosic biofuel technologies. Variability in feedstock characteristics and behavior creates numerous challenges to the biorefining industry by affecting continuous operation and biofuels yields. Currently, feedstock variability is understood and explained largely on the basis of chemical composition. Physical and mechanical properties and behavior of lignocellulosic feedstock in various unit operations, studied through advanced analytical methods, can further explain variability. Such studies will enable us in developing processes and designing equipment to improve operation and conversion performance. In this perspective, we review several advanced analytical methods that measure density, moisture content, thermal properties, flowability, grindability, rheology properties, and micromorphological characteristics. We also discuss the correlations and interactions among these properties that reflect the complexity of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock and the associated quality metrics and logistics of supplying consistent quality feedstock to a biorefinery. We also examine methods that have not traditionally been used to characterize lignocellulosic feedstocks but have the potential to bridge the gap in our explanation of feedstock variability.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8059-8085 |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 8 2020 |
Funding
The authors acknowledge the funding support from the Bioenergy Technologies Office within the DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office through the Feedstock Conversion Interface Consortium. This work was authored in part by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, the manager and operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Idaho National Laboratory coauthors acknowledge the funding support from DOE under DOE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. The authors also thank Emily Scott for preparing some of the graphics in this perspective.
Keywords
- Biomass characterization
- Feedstock variability
- Operational reliability
- Physical and chemical properties