Hydrothermal Biomass Conversion as the Enabler of Sustainable Biorefinery

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Volume Title

School of Chemical Engineering | Doctoral thesis (article-based) | Defence date: 2020-04-03

Date

2020

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

62 + app. 80

Series

Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS, 41/2020

Abstract

The objectives of this dissertation are to determine the role of biomass conversion processes in sustainable biorefinery and to develop a hydrothermal conversion process as the enabler of sustainable process. The societal and environmental aspects directs the biomass conversion towards 2nd generation. The criteria of sustainable biorefinery include fossil-independent production without compromising the food and animal feed, and flexibility to adapt the changes in market demand and feedstock availability. These criteria can be achieved with multi-product-multi-feed, flexible conversion processes efficient for the high-moisture biomass. Biomass conversion processes are the heart of supply chain networks, influencing the economic and environmental performance and the structure of the whole chain. The conversion processes are to be selected and improved in accordance with the target products and biomass feedstocks.  Hydrothermal processes are suitable for biomass conversion regarding the high moisture and flexibility. It was concluded through a preliminary evaluation that partial wet oxidation can be an intermediate operation of an advanced hydrothermal process, rather than chemical production. Consequently, the experiments included supercritical water gasification of black liquor and partial wet oxidation of saw dust. The dissertation included also feasibility analysis of integrating supercritical water gasification of Kraft black liquor to a pulp mill. Compiling the results, the dissertation proposes a new hydrothermal process for the production of lignin, syngas and bio-oil from the lignocellulosic wastes of various sectors. The proposed conversion process enhances the economic and environmental performance of the involved biomass sectors by valorizing wastes and by-products. This enables sectoral integration network as the supply chain structure.  The sectoral integration network involves pre-treatment of wastes in biomass sites, regional conversion processes and centralized upgrading plants. The advantages of this network includes additional revenue via utilizing wastes of various sectors, distributed financial benefits involving rural areas as well, and reduced financial risks through multiple value creation and adapting the changes in market demand and feedstock availability.

Description

The public defense on 3rd April 2020 at 12:00 will be organized via remote technology. Link: https://aalto.zoom.us/j/487748989 Zoom Quick Guide: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/zoom-quick-guide

Supervising professor

Alopaeus, Ville, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Finland

Thesis advisor

Koskinen, Jukka, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Biotechnology and Chemical Technology, Finland
Sarwar, Golam, Dr., Aalto University, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Finland
Oinas, Pekka, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Finland

Keywords

biomass conversion, sustainable biorefinery, hydrothermal conversion process

Other note

Parts

  • [Publication 1]: Özdenkci K., Koskinen J., Sarwar G., 2014. Recovery of sodium organic salts from partially wet oxidized black liquor. Cellulose Chemistry and Technology, 48 (9-10), p. 825.
  • [Publication 2]: Özdenkçi K., Koskinen J., Sarwar G., Oinas P., 2017. Gibbs Free-Energy-Based Objective Function for Electrolyte Activity Coefficient Models. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 56 (45), p. 13508.
    DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b01345 View at publisher
  • [Publication 3]: De Blasio C., Lucca G., Özdenkci K., Mulas M., Lundqvist K., Koskinen J., Santarelli M., Westerlund T., Järvinen M., 2016. A Study on supercritical water gasification of black liquor conducted in stainless steel and nickel-chromium-molybdenum reactors. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 91 (10), p. 2664.
    DOI: 10.1002/jctb.4871 View at publisher
  • [Publication 4]: Özdenkçi K., De Blasio C., Sarwar G., Koskinen J., Melin K., Alopaeus V., 2019. Techno-economic feasibility of supercritical water gasification of black liquor. Energy, 189, 116284.
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2019.116284 View at publisher
  • [Publication 5]: Sipponen M. H., Özdenkci K., Muddassar R. H., Melin K., Sarwar G., Oinas P., 2016. Hydrothermal liquefaction of softwood: selective chemical production under oxidative conditions. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 4, p. 3978.
    DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b00846 View at publisher
  • [Publication 6]: Özdenkçi K., De Blasio C., Muddassar R. H., Melin K., Oinas P., Koskinen J., Sarwar G., Järvinen M., 2017. A Novel Biorefinery Integration Concept for Lignocellulosic Biomass. Energy Conversion and Management, 149, p. 974.
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2017.04.034 View at publisher

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