Luvuyo Tyhoda

Luvuyo Tyhoda
Stellenbosch University | SUN · Department of Forest and Wood Science

PhD
Valorisation of biomass into biobased chemicals and products

About

49
Publications
16,549
Reads
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741
Citations
Introduction
Luvuyo Tyhoda, holds a BSc in Chemistry and a PhD is Wood science from Fort Hare and Stellenbosch University respectively. He conducted his PhD studies through a DAAD sponsored sandwich programme between Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. Dr Tyhoda currently holds a position as a senior lecturer at the Department of Forest and Wood Science, where he teaches Wood chemistry, Wood Anatomy and Wood composites. His main research themes are in the development of integrated forest biorefinery technologies for the pulp and paper industry, valorisation of waste biomass, low carbon footprint composites as well as bio-based adhesives and preservatives.
Additional affiliations
December 2014 - January 2015
University of Padova
Position
  • Visiting Scientist
April 2009 - present
Stellenbosch University
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
Description
  • I teach Wood Chemistry, Wood Anatomy and Identification and Wood Composites.
April 2009 - present
Stellenbosch University
Position
  • Researcher
Description
  • Wood Composites Biorefinery
Education
September 2003 - December 2007
Stellenbosch University
Field of study
  • Wood Science

Publications

Publications (49)
Preprint
Full-text available
The reduction of energy consumption by industrial processes has become imperative due to rising energy costs and efforts toward decarbonisation. The continuous manufacturing of paper is energy intensive due in part to the water removal process required to convert pulp slurries to valuable paper products. This necessitates the development of energy...
Article
Chromite fines must be agglomerated before being smelted in submerged arc furnaces to prevent disruptions and damage to equipment. Bentonite is the most commonly used binder for fines agglomeration in the ferrochrome industry; however, fluctuations in its availability has led to the investigation of alternative binders. Spent pulping liquors are un...
Chapter
The unsustainable soil degradation (especially in agricultural land) due to intensive agricultural practices and the rapid increase in the global population has prompted numerous efforts to synthesize artificial humic products from by-product lignin to improve soil fertility and agricultural production. This chapter discusses the extent of soil deg...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose The current study investigated to which extent phenol could be replaced by lignins to produce lignin phenol formaldehyde (LPF) resins, utilising soda lignin and sodium lignosulphonate as by-products from the South African pulping industry. Method The lignins were characterised and soda lignin indicated the highest reactivity. It was theref...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Lignin is a precursor of humus, and a by-product of the pulp and paper industry. This study investigated the synthesis of soil conditioning materials from industrial lignins (kraft, soda and sulphite), through ammoxidation. Method The industrial lignins were characterized and ammoxidized in a 1 L Parr reactor at 80 °C, 10 barg, for 4 h, wi...
Article
Full-text available
The excellent properties of geopolymer composites and their ability to be synthesized from various industrial waste streams make them promising green binders in wood-based composite manufacturing. The study characterized 100% slag unary precursor-based geopolymers reinforced with lignocellulosic material residue. The residue included sugarcane baga...
Preprint
Full-text available
Purpose This study investigated the ammoxidation of three industrial lignins of which two were respectively precipitated from kraft and soda liquors, and the third one, a filtered sodium lignosulfonate for the synthesis of soil conditioning materials. Method The industrial lignins were characterized for structural properties and ammoxidized in a 1...
Article
PurposeThe development of effective strategies for lignin valorization to valuable products is of high interest in various industries such as pulp and paper and the emerging bioenergy process. Indeed, the successful valorization of lignin could improve the profitability of these processes and their environmental performance. In this study, an origi...
Chapter
Full-text available
Hemicelluloses are located in the walls of vegetal cells and are the second most abundant macromolecules in the world. Thanks to the inherent chemical composition, hemicelluloses can be directly used as substrates for enzymes synthesis and in film or polymer manufacture or turned into several products, which include among others biofuels, biopolyme...
Preprint
Full-text available
Purpose The current study investigated to which extent phenol could be replaced by lignins to produce lignin phenol formaldehyde (LPF) resins, utilising soda lignin and sodium lignosulphonate as by-products from the South African pulping industry. Method The lignins were characterised and soda lignin indicated the highest reactivity. It was therefo...
Article
In recent times, mass timber products have encouraged renewed interest in wood as raw material for more sustainable building and construction. However, durability concerns due to wood susceptibility to biodegradation could curtail this interest. Hence, there is a need for more durable wood products in emerging structural applications including the...
Article
Full-text available
The prevailing approach of total clearing to contain the spread of invasive plants (IP) in South Africa is generating enormous lignocellulosic wastes. This study examined the possibility of utilizing these wastes in the production of geopolymer composites for use in outdoor environments. Untreated wood particles from Acacia mearnsii and A. longifol...
Article
Full-text available
This study aims to investigate the potential of using lignin sourced from South African black liquor as a total phenol substitute in phenol-formaldehyde resins (PFRs), with a particular focus on bonding strength and curing properties. Four South African pulping-based lignins were used to synthesize these lignin-phenol formaldehyde resins (LPF100 re...
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated the feasibility of utilizing paper sludge (PS) as feedstock in the production of composite boards that are lightweight, durable and environmentally friendly. PS samples were collected from recycled newsprint (RN), corrugated recycled (CR) and virgin pulp (VP) pulping mills in South Africa. The PS was dried and mixed with mag...
Article
The effect of combined quinone reductase (QR) and lignin peroxidase (LiP) on the depolymerization of technical lignins isolated from soda-anthraquinone (SAQ), steam explosion (S-E), and two sulfite processes (NaE and NaPE) was investigated. While LiP is best known for its ability to degrade lignins, it may also cause lignin re-polymerization due to...
Preprint
Full-text available
Biocomposite materials manufactured from natural fibres and polymer matrix represent a group of engineered composite products with diverse applications. These materials continue to find increasing applications due to their design flexibility, superior properties and aesthetic appeal. The applicability of these biocomposites, however, depends on the...
Article
Full-text available
Irvingia tree species have been earmarked for domestication in many countries due to their potential as raw materials for various applications, which include biodiesel, cosmetics, perfume, soap, etc. Presently, there is no information on the utilization of kernel seed extract as a potential source of green wood adhesive. This study is focused on in...
Article
Full-text available
Plant biomass residues are renewable sources for the production of biofuels and high‐value macromolecules. Sugarcane bagasse is one such plant biomass residue that is available from the sugar‐processing industry. It is used as a raw material for biobased ethanol production. However, some of its properties and its behavior during processing have a m...
Article
Full-text available
There is renewed effort in reducing the carbon footprint of conventional building materials by employing novel phosphate cements. This study investigates the influence of industrial aggregates, namely fly ash, silica fume and calcium carbonate on biocomposite properties. The biomaterials used included pine, bagasse and wattle. The density of the bo...
Article
Full-text available
Irvingia seed kernels have been identified as potential raw materials for a wide range of applications such as biodiesel, cosmetics, perfume, and soap. As a result, the Irvingia wood species is earmarked for domestication globally in order to commercially exploit these potential benefits. This study investigated the physical and mechanical properti...
Article
There is renewed interest in the domestication of Irvingia tree species due to the potential use of various parts of the tree as raw materials for a wide range of applications such as biodiesel production, cosmetics, perfumes, soap, weight-loss supplement etc. The current study investigates the properties of extracts from the seed kernels of two Ir...
Article
Full-text available
Over the last few decades, innovative wood composite products and processes have created markets for new and existing products. Inorganic bonded fibre composites have been developed for high performance applications using conventional cement and concrete. The demands for wood based composites along with increasing economic and environmental concern...
Article
The production of phenols through catalytic pyrolysis of different types of lignin was investigated. Samples from eucalyptus (hardwood), pine (softwood), and sugarcane bagasse (herbaceous) were impregnated with the catalysts , Al 2 O 3 , ZnO, NaOH and KOH, in quantities equivalent to 1% of the lignin mass. Pyrolysis was conducted using thermogravim...
Article
The structural nature of lignin renders it suitable as a renewable source of phenolic compounds. The production of phenols from pyrolysis of sugarcane lignins with impregnated catalysts was investigated by screening of twelve catalysts (Al2O3, CaO, Fe2O3, TiO2, ZnO, MgO, CuO, MoO3, NiO, Ni/Al2O3-SiO2, NaOH, and KOH) at 1 wt.% content. Sugarcane bag...
Article
Full-text available
Phosphate-bonded composites are an emerging class of building materials produced from natural fibres and phosphate based cement pastes. They are durable and possess mechanical properties similar to those of Portland cement. However, the moisture absorption of natural fibre can lead to swelling which may result in the reduction in the mechanical str...
Article
Full-text available
The feasibility of manufacturing phosphate bonded wood composite board products from four locally occurring invasive acacia tree species (Acacia cyclops, A. saligna, A. mearnsii and A. longifolia) was studied using a formulated magnesium oxide (MgO) and monopotassium phosphate (KH2PO4) binder system. The optimization for the manufacturing process w...
Article
The development of phosphate bonded composites with properties comparable with those of current Portland cement bonded products has been investigated. More precisely, the focus of the study was the optimization of calcium phosphate cements in combination with wood processing residues slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) planer shavings, Black wattl...
Article
This study investigates the potential use of magnesium based phosphate cement prepared from a heavy magnesium oxide and monopotassium phosphate as a binder for the production of composite panels using bio-based industrial residues such as bagasse, hemp hurds, pine sawdust, paper mill sludge and wastepaper as raw materials. These residues were used...
Chapter
Full-text available
Biomass used for energy conversion ranges from wood, especially planted for energy purposes, over harvesting residues, other woody biomass, such as shrubs or bamboo to waste materials, such as sawdust or pulp residues. These types of biomass differ widely in their properties and furthermore there is a variation within each species or type of biomas...
Book
Full-text available
This book is written for scientists and practitioners interested in deepening their knowledge of the sustainable production of bioenergy from wood in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Utilising the value chain concept, this book outlines the necessary aspects for managing sustainable bioenergy production. A wide range of topics is covered includ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Over-utilisation, overgrazing and clear-felling of natural forests are current serious environmental issues. These activities lead to soil erosion and inevitably to soil degradation as the fertile top soils, which contain most of the accumulated nutrients and humic substances that control the natural cycle of organic matter in the biosphere, are lo...
Article
Full-text available
Covalent lignin-carbohydrate linkages between lignin and carbohydrates have been suggested to be a major obstacle to complete delignification of biomass feedstocks during chemical processing, e.g. pulping or enzymatic hydrolysis of the biomass to release sugars for ethanol production. The current study is aimed at developing an understanding of the...
Article
The present work addresses the introduction of second generation biofuels from agricultural by-products generated from low input cereal crops such as triticale. The main purpose was to investigate whether the overall ethanol yield in a triticale dry-mill ethanol plant could be increased by combination of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of the...
Article
On t.p.: Master of Forestry (Wood Science). Includes bibliographical references. Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.

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