• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.266-272
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• 2020

In this study, the production of ethyl levulinate from chitosan using successive acid-catalyzed hydrolysis and esterification was investigated. To optimize and analysis the reaction factors and heir reciprocal interaction, response surface methodology was introduced. In the effect of water content in ethanol solvent, the production yield of ethyl levulinate was high at 5% water content (or 95% ethanol). As a result of optimization of reaction factors, 30.1% ethyl levulinate yield was obtained under the condition of 200 ℃, 3.19% chitosan, 0.49M sulfuric acid, 5% water content, and 58 min. Finally, the formation yield of ethyl levulinate was tended to enhance by increase of combined severity factor. This result indicated that the potential of chitosan as feedstock for production of chemicals and fuels.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.12-18
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• 2014

The objective of this work is to produce solid biofuel from sawdust using the HTC (Hydrothermal carbonization) process. The HTC process of feedstock involves the raw material coming into contact with high temperature and pressurized water. The HTC process could produce gaseous, liquefied and solid products, but this study focused on solid product only as an alternative to coal. In this study, sawdust used for a feedstock and its moisture content was under 5%. Water was added with the feedstock to raise moisture content to 80% and also used catalysts. The HTC process was performed at temperature range from 200 to $270^{\circ}C$ and reaction time was 15 to 120 min. Rising temperature resulted in increasing the higher heating value (HHV) of HTC product. In case of adding catalyst, HHV of solid biofuel was higher and reaction occurred at lower temperature and pressure. Also, HTC solid product had been characterized and found to be hydrophobic, increased HHV (over 40%), and pelletized easily compared to raw material.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.40-50
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• 2013

This study was performed to investigate the potential of torrefied tulip tree (TT) for the production of pellets. For this purpose, chemical composition and fuel characteristics of torrefied TT were examined. In addition, pellets were fabricated by using sawdust of torrefied TT chip, and durability of the pellet was measured. Lignin content of torrefied TT was higher than that of non-torrefied TT, and increased with the increases of torrefaction temperature and time. Fuel characteristics of torrefied TT were affected by torrefied conditions, and the characteristics were influenced more by torrefaction temperature than by torrefaction time. Higher heating value (HHV) and ash content (AC) of torrefied tulip tree increased with increasing torrefaction temperature, and the values were much higher than HHV and AC values of non-torrefied TT. Durability of pellets fabricated with $230^{\circ}C$- and $250^{\circ}C$-torrefied TT was higher than that of $270^{\circ}C$-torrefied TT, and the value exceeded the minimum requirement (-97.50%) of the 1st-grade pellet standard designated by Korea Forest Research Institute. Based on the results, torrefaction treatment of $250^{\circ}C/50min$ to TT might be a optimal condition for the production of TT pellets considering the mass balance and fuel characteristics of TT as well as the durability of the pellets. Thus, it is confirmed that torrefied TT can be used as a raw material for the production of bio-pellets.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.465-469
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• 2013

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of torrefied OPF (oil palm fronds) as the fuel. The torrefaction was performed at 200, 250, 300 and $350^{\circ}C$ during 1 and 2 hours, respectively. As raising the torrefaction temperature and increasing the processing time, the GHV (gross heating value) of torrefied OPFs was increased. Moreover, we found that the torrefaction temperature is more important factor than the processing time. However, the proper torrefaction temperature was asked because the higher torrefaction temperature leaded to the lower torrefied OPF yield. TGA (thermo-gravimetric analysis) data released that the torrefaction at $250^{\circ}C$ could significantly decompose the hemicellulose and the almost cellulose was decomposed at $300^{\circ}C$. In addition, the grindability of biomass was improved after torrefaction, so that it can reduce energy consumption in comminution.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2012

Densified fuels from biomass are widely used in North America and Europe as a regenerable and clean bioenergy. In this study, the fuel characteristics and densification characteristics of Japanese larch and Hyunsasi poplar were studied using a piston-type briquetting machine. The effects of pressure, pressure holding time, species, and particle size on briquette characteristics were studied. At room temperature, the highly densified briquettes of Japanese larch and Hyunsasi poplar can be produced at a compression pressure of 110~170 MPa. The produced briquettes have densities between 0.66 and 0.94 g/$cm^3$ after 28 days of storage at room temperature. The optimum pressure holding time was found to be 12 seconds. There is a linear increase in pressure with increase in density. The densities of briquettes from Japanese larch were higher than those of briquettes from Hyunsasi poplar. Also, the coarser particle size resulted in higher densities in briquettes than the finer particle size.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 2024

Plant Microbial Fuel Cells (P-MFCs) are biomass-based energy technologies that generate electricity from plant and root microbial communities and are suitable for natural fundamental solutions considering sustainable environments. In order to develop P-MFC technology suitable for domestic waterfront space, it is necessary to analyze international research trends first. Therefore, in this study, 700 P-MFC-related research papers were investigated in Web of Science, and the core keywords were derived using VOSviewer, a word analysis program, and the research trends were analyzed. First, P-MFC-related research has been on the rise since 1998, especially since the mid to late 2010s. The number of papers submitted by each country was "China," "U.S." and "India." Since the 2010s, interest in P-MFCs has increased, and the number of publications in the Philippines, Ukraine, and Mexico, which have abundant waterfront space and wetland environments, is increasing. Secondly, from the perspective of research trends in different periods, 1998-2015 mainly carried out microbial fuel cell performance verification research in different environments. The 2016-2020 period focuses on the specific conditions of microbial fuel cell use, the structure of P-MFC and how it develops. From 2021 to 2023, specific research on constraints and efficiency improvement in the development of P-MFC was carried out. The P-MFC-related international research trends identified through this study can be used as useful data for developing technologies suitable for domestic waterfront space in the future. In addition to this study, further research is needed on research trends and levels in subsectors, and in order to develop and revitalize P-MFC technologies in Korea, research on field applicability should be expanded and policies and systems improved.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.65-79
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• 2019

The study attempted to estimate the optimal facility capacity by combining renewable energy sources that can be connected with gas CHP in industrial complexes. In particular, we reviewed industrial complexes subject to energy use plan from 2013 to 2016. Although the regional designation was excluded, Sejong industrial complex, which has a fuel usage of 38 thousand TOE annually and a high heat density of $92.6Gcal/km^2{\cdot}h$, was selected for research. And we analyzed the optimal operation model of CHP Hybrid System linking fuel cell and photovoltaic power generation using HOMER Pro, a renewable energy hybrid system economic analysis program. In addition, in order to improve the reliability of the research by analyzing not only the heat demand but also the heat demand patterns for the dominant sectors in the thermal energy, the main supply energy source of CHP, the economic benefits were added to compare the relative benefits. As a result, the total indirect heat demand of Sejong industrial complex under construction was 378,282 Gcal per year, of which paper industry accounted for 77.7%, which is 293,754 Gcal per year. For the entire industrial complex indirect heat demand, a single CHP has an optimal capacity of 30,000 kW. In this case, CHP shares 275,707 Gcal and 72.8% of heat production, while peak load boiler PLB shares 103,240 Gcal and 27.2%. In the CHP, fuel cell, and photovoltaic combinations, the optimum capacity is 30,000 kW, 5,000 kW, and 1,980 kW, respectively. At this time, CHP shared 275,940 Gcal, 72.8%, fuel cell 12,390 Gcal, 3.3%, and PLB 90,620 Gcal, 23.9%. The CHP capacity was not reduced because an uneconomical alternative was found that required excessive operation of the PLB for insufficient heat production resulting from the CHP capacity reduction. On the other hand, in terms of indirect heat demand for the paper industry, which is the dominant industry, the optimal capacity of CHP, fuel cell, and photovoltaic combination is 25,000 kW, 5,000 kW, and 2,000 kW. The heat production was analyzed to be CHP 225,053 Gcal, 76.5%, fuel cell 11,215 Gcal, 3.8%, PLB 58,012 Gcal, 19.7%. However, the economic analysis results of the current electricity market and gas market confirm that the return on investment is impossible. However, we confirmed that the CHP Hybrid System, which combines CHP, fuel cell, and solar power, can improve management conditions of about KRW 9.3 billion annually for a single CHP system.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.4B
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• pp.253-259
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• 2012

Wastewater-adapted microalgae such as Chlorella vulgaris AG10032, Ankistrodesmus gracilis SAG278-2 and Scenedesmus quadricauda AG10308 are useful biological resources for recovering biofuel and other bio-based materials from wastewater because of their efficient removals of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater and their high fatty acid contents in biomass. Although the concentrations of phosphorus typically vary in wastewater environment, very little is known about the effect of phosphorus concentration, especially phosphorus starvation, on microalgal fatty acid synthesis. This is partially due to the lack of methodological establishment for algal fatty acid analysis. In this study, we compared the analysis performances of microalgal fatty acids by two different methods; one is a non-polar GC (gas chromatography) column based method, which is generally used for microbial fatty acids, and the other is a polar WAX-type GC column method, which is typically used for plant fatty acids. And then, we explored the effect of phosphorus concentration levels on fatty acid production in microalgae cultivated from wastewater. As results, the polar WAX-type column method has better ability to separate poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) including $C_{18:3}$ (linolenic acid), and was found to be more applicable in analyzing fatty acids from wastewater-cultivated microalgae than the non-polar column method. The fatty acid characterization by the WAX-type column method revealed little effect of phosphorus starvation on the quantity and composition of fatty acids from wastewater-cultivated microalgae.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.172-172
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• 2011

Anaerobic digestion(AD) has successfully been used for many applications that have conclusively demonstrated its ability to recycle biogenic wastes. AD has been successfully applied in industrial waste water treatment, stabilsation of sewage sludge, landfill management and recycling of biowaste and agricultural wastes as manure, energy crops. During AD, i.e. organic materials are decomposed by anaerobic forming bacteria and fina1ly converted to excellent fertilizer and biogas which is primarily composed of methane(CH4) and carbon dioxide(CO2) with smaller amounts of hydrogen sulfide(H2S) and ammonia(NH3), trace gases such as hydrogen(H2), nitrogen(N2), carbon monoxide(CO), oxygen(O2) and contain dust particles and siloxanes. The production and utilisation of biogas has several environmental advantages such as i)a renewable energy source, ii)reduction the release of methane to the atomsphere, iii)use as a substitute for fossil fuels. In utilisation of biogas, most of biogas produced from small scale plant e.g. farm-scale AD plant are used to provide as energy source for cooking and lighting, in most of the industrialised countries for energy recovery, environmental and safety reasons are used in combined heat and power(CHP) engines or as a supplement to natural. In particular, biogas to use as vehicle fuel or for grid injection there different biogas treatment steps are necessary, it is important to have a high energy content in biogas with biogas purification and upgrading. The energy content of biogas is in direct proportion to the methane content and by removing trace gases and carbon dioxide in the purification and upgrading process the energy content of biogas in increased. The process of purification and upgrading biogas generates new possibilities for its use since it can then replace natural gas, which is used extensively in many countries, However, those technologies add to the costs of biogas production. It is important to have an optimized purification and upgrading process in terms of low energy consumption and high efficiency giving high methane content in the upgraded gas. A number of technologies for purification and upgrading of biogas have been developed to use as a vehicle fuel or grid injection during the passed twenty years, and several technologies exist today and they are continually being improved. The biomethane which is produced from the purification and the upgrading process of biogas has gained increased attention due to rising oil and natural gas prices and increasing targets for renewable fuel quotes in many countries. New plants are continually being built and the number of biomethane plants was around 100 in 2009.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.348-355
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• 2008

Recently, an understanding of new sources of liquid hydrocarbons such as bio-ethanol is economically very important. The present dissertation is also designed with purpose of developing the energy-saving process for the separation of bio-ethanol. In order to illustrate the predictability of proposed process for the separation of bio-ethanol, the experimental data from literatures and real plant data are used. Application of the thermodynamics of multicomponent mixtures and phase equilibria to the extractive distillation process with syntheses of heat exchanger network has enabled the development of energy-saving process for different separating agents. Developed process is capable of minimizing the energy usage and the environmental effect. This extractive process is also able to properly describe the effect of impurities, the choice of separating agent. Simulation results of extractive distillation using ethylene glycol show that impurities do not affect to extractive distillation operation and agent, ethylene glycol, was recycled without any loss. It is possible that extraction distillation has various heat network for anhydride ethanol and recovery of ethanol is maximized. Ethylene glycol as separating agent has a high boiling point to eliminate azeotropic point and on the contrary solubility of agent is low to be almost completed recovered. Proposed process is also the energy efficient process configuration in which 99.85mole% anhydride ethanol can be produced with low energy of 1.37198 (kg steam/kg anhydride ethanol).