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Purpose
Previous Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of biomass briquetting have shown wide variations in the LCA outcomes as a result of variations in LCA methodological parameters and briquetting technological parameters. An LCA model of biomass briquetting was therefore developed to enable transparent comparison of life cycle environmental impac...
Citations
... Often missing in most of the research on the LCA of biomass densification is an understanding of the relevance of process variables to the environmental effects of the life cycle. For example, biomass properties, such as density and moisture content, and densification technology, can affect the energy requirements for densification [17]. It is therefore vital to explore the suitability of various biomass resources for potential utilisation as bioenergy sources via sustainability assessments, to ensure the sustainable utilisation of these resources. ...
... The current study employs a comparative LCA model of biomass densification system [17] to simulate the process and feed parameters associated with various Mexican biomass types. The specific biomass range used and composition are from published studies [2,4,18]. ...
... A functional unit of 1 MJ densified biomass energy content at the plant gate was defined for the LCA modelling. A system boundary of gate-to-gate was utilised, as established in the parent model ( Figure 1) [17]. The case study focuses on identifying variations in the environmental impact of densifying different biomass resources, and the feed biomass used was assumed to have suitable moisture and particle sizes for densification. ...
This work presents new data on the life cycle impact assessment of various lignocellulosic biomass types in Mexico. A comparative life cycle assessment model of biomass densification systems was conducted. An integrated approach that incorporated various process variables, such as technology and variations in feed properties, within the analysis was employed to evaluate the environmental impact of producing 1 MJ of energy-containing densified fuel. The results show that the densification unit and curing (fuel drying) have the highest impact on the life cycle’s operational energy and the total life cycle energy, respectively. Of all the 33 biomass types from the 17 species sources considered in this study, sweet sorghum and sandbur grass have the highest global warming potential, 0.26 and 0.24 (kg CO2-eq), and human toxicity 0.58 and 0.53 (kg 1,4-dichlorobenzene-eq), respectively, while coffee pulp and cooperi pine wood have the least impact in both categories, with values of 0.08 and 0.09 (kg CO2-eq), and 0.17 and 0.16 (kg 1,4-dichlorobenzene-eq), respectively. Chichicaxtla sawmill slabs also have a low environmental impact, and cooperi pine and Ceiba wood have the lowest ozone depletion and ecotoxicity potential. A sensitivity analysis indicated the effects of the transportation system and energy source on the life cycle’s environmental impact. Adequate feed preparation, the blending of multiple feeds in the optimum ratio, and the careful selection of densification technology could improve the environmental performance of densifying some of the low-bulk-density feed biomass types.
Due to the global energy crisis and high energy consumption, it is commonly understood that a considerable amount of energy from alternative fuels is required. Briquetting is a revolutionary thermal process that is mostly used to transform agricultural waste into cylindrical shape products that may be utilized as a fuel in burning chambers and power stations. In the present paper, Stochastic analysis is performed on a two-unit cold standby briquetting system. The system considers two kinds of faults, either major or minor. The inspection of a unit’s failure shows system feasibility under the observation either of expert or ordinary repairmen. It is assumed that if a minor/major fault occurs in the operational unit, the system would fail partially, but if a fault occurs in both units, the system will fail. We include a detailed study of system parameters such as availability, mean time to system failure, busy period, and profit by using the regenerative point graphical technique. Furthermore, we applied the grey wolf optimization technique to optimize the system profit.KeywordsRegenerative point graphical technique (RPGT)Briquetting systemOptimizationProfit
Renewable energy sources such as biomass wastes serve as potential alternatives for traditional fossil fuel sources. This study investigated the conversion of corn stover (CS) waste into an eco-friendly solid fuel (briquettes) with high carbon content and high calorific value (HHV) to meet the increasing energy demand in South Africa through slow pyrolysis and densification processes. Biochar and char briquettes were characterised using ultimate and proximate analyses. Central composite design (CCD) was used to optimise the production of briquettes, in terms of HHV, compaction pressure, durability, and density. The optimised conditions were used to develop a process design and economic evaluation of a briquette production scale-up plant. The results indicated that the HHV (25.5–28.81 MJ/kg) of the briquettes was influenced by binder concentration. Whereas the compressive strength (3.45–6.11 N/mm²) and density (420–788 kg/m³) of the briquettes were both influenced by compaction pressure and binder concentration. All 3 factors influenced the durability (97–100%) of the briquettes. At these optimised conditions (40 MPa, 8.74% and 21.6 °C), HHV, compressive strength, density and durability as predicted by the respective developed models are 27.32 MJ/kg, 5.48 N/mm², 770.40 m³/kg and 98.87% respectively. Techno-economic analysis of the CS briquetting plant showed that it was able to generate 300 kg/h of dry briquettes. The economic evaluation of this study showed that with a total capital investment (TCI) of $518,791, the plant was economically feasible with a discounted payback period (DPBP) of < 4 years and discounted cash flow rate of return (DCFROR) of > 30%.
Graphical Abstract
Globally, as the population and the living standards expanded, so did the use of energy and materials. Renewable energy resources are being used to help address the energy issue and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Because lignocellulosic biomass resources are widely available and renewable, various processes are used to convert these resources into bioenergy. In the current study, two production processes were evaluated, namely the transformation of vine shoot waste into value-added biofuels, i.e., pellets/briquettes and bioethanol. The life cycle assessment (LCA) technique was used for simulating and documenting the environmental performance of two biomass waste to biofuels pathways, possible candidates for closing loops in the viticulture production, according to the circular economy models. The SimaPro software was used to perform the LCA. The results show that the pellets/briquettes production process has a lower negative influence on the studied environmental impact categories compared to the production of bioethanol.
Like many countries, Indonesia generates large quantities of food waste. Food waste is poorly managed due to inadequate treatment practices, which has a harmful impact on the environment. This paper demonstrates the high potential for food waste valorization in Indonesia and outlines the optimal valorization pathways to inform future decision-making surrounding the management of this waste. This paper also compares various conversion technologies for transforming food waste into liquid, solid, and gaseous biofuels. The challenges and opportunities for wider implementation are also considered, including the integration of supply chains and the logistics of food waste management, the technological feasibility, and the persistent behaviors surrounding food waste and energy in Indonesia. The economic and environmental benefits, the perspectives of improved food waste management practices and sustainable fuels, as well as the policy landscape surrounding waste and sustainable energy are also explored. The challenges of scalability and commercialization are also highlighted in this paper. This review demonstrates the best pathways from food waste valorization to bioenergy, including biogas or biodiesel integrated with a black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) composting system. Despite the scale of resources in Indonesia, the pathways and technologies for processing food waste are lacking. Further in-depth studies are required to demonstrate the sustainability and feasibility of food waste transformation into bioenergy to realize its high value.
All participating countries of the Paris agreement 2015 agreed on a reduction of the overall rise in temperature by less than 2 °C. To achieve this target, renewable energy plays a vital role due to its non-depleting and sustainable nature. The process of condensation of biomass residues into solid fuels is famously known as briquetting. It increases the efficacy of thermal capacity, rate of combustion, and calorific value of the fuel. Sometimes neglected faults in a briquette machine usually do not affect the overall performance of the system but their ignorance leads us towards major faults. Moreover, when a neglected fault occurs, the aspect of preventive maintenance of the system will also come into the picture to avoid the extension of minor faults into major faults. In this paper, we consider the neglected faults like overheating, extensive vibration, abnormal sounds, etc. along with other minor/ major faults by means of preventive maintenance. For such kinds of minor faults, an ordinary repairman is enough for the handling of the entire unit. A detailed analysis of various parameters like availability, profit, busy period, mean time to system failure, etc. are presented. Furthermore, we used the Artificial Bee Colony algorithm to optimize the value of system profit. We studied the graphical representation of evaluated parameters for a clear picture of the proposed work.
