IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v136y2021ics136403212030664x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermochemical processing of woody biomass: A review focused on energy-driven applications and catalytic upgrading

Author

Listed:
  • Solarte-Toro, Juan Camilo
  • González-Aguirre, Jose Andrés
  • Poveda Giraldo, Jhonny Alejandro
  • Cardona Alzate, Carlos A.

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels as an energy source and platform of fuel additives can be decreased through the use of woody biomass as a raw material in different conversion processes. In this way, this paper provides an overview of energy-driven applications and insights into the catalytic upgrading of woody biomass. For this purpose, aspects related to technologies, yields, and chemical compounds production were considered. Sustainability concepts are described to improve the evaluation of woody biomass conversion either in a stand-alone process or biorefinery. Besides, this paper provides a case of study to better understand the existing differences between the thermochemical alternatives to convert woody biomass from a techno-economic perspective. This review allows for identifying the use of combustion and gasification processes as the most common alternatives to produce energy. Meanwhile, the wood pellet combustion is the most used for power generation on the residential level. Furthermore, the implementation of heterogeneous catalysis to upgrade syngas and bio-oil into alkanes and alkenes is an increasing trend. On the other hand, the sustainability assessment for the thermochemical upgrading of biomass is still under research. Regarding the case of study, the gasification process presents better techno-economic performance than combustion and pyrolysis since biochar can represent an additional source of income. Nevertheless, this technology must be improved to reach large-scale biomass upgrading. Therefore, this paper offers the readers a vision of the woody biomass conversion through thermochemical processes and catalytic upgrading, considering residential and industrial applications, as well as sustainability aspects.

Suggested Citation

  • Solarte-Toro, Juan Camilo & González-Aguirre, Jose Andrés & Poveda Giraldo, Jhonny Alejandro & Cardona Alzate, Carlos A., 2021. "Thermochemical processing of woody biomass: A review focused on energy-driven applications and catalytic upgrading," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:136:y:2021:i:c:s136403212030664x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110376
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403212030664X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110376?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Peng, Jianghong & Bi, Xiaotao T., 2015. "A state-of-the-art review of biomass torrefaction, densification and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 847-866.
    2. Verma, V.K. & Bram, S. & Delattin, F. & Laha, P. & Vandendael, I. & Hubin, A. & De Ruyck, J., 2012. "Agro-pellets for domestic heating boilers: Standard laboratory and real life performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 17-23.
    3. Whittaker, Carly & Shield, Ian, 2017. "Factors affecting wood, energy grass and straw pellet durability – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 1-11.
    4. Cristina Moliner & Alberto Lagazzo & Barbara Bosio & Rodolfo Botter & Elisabetta Arato, 2020. "Production, Characterization, and Evaluation of Pellets from Rice Harvest Residues," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Haro, P. & Ollero, P. & Villanueva Perales, A.L. & Reyes Valle, C., 2012. "Technoeconomic assessment of lignocellulosic ethanol production via DME (dimethyl ether) hydrocarbonylation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 891-901.
    6. Wang, Tengfei & Zhai, Yunbo & Zhu, Yun & Li, Caiting & Zeng, Guangming, 2018. "A review of the hydrothermal carbonization of biomass waste for hydrochar formation: Process conditions, fundamentals, and physicochemical properties," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 223-247.
    7. Yao, Zhiyi & You, Siming & Ge, Tianshu & Wang, Chi-Hwa, 2018. "Biomass gasification for syngas and biochar co-production: Energy application and economic evaluation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 43-55.
    8. He, Jie & Zhang, Wennan, 2011. "Techno-economic evaluation of thermo-chemical biomass-to-ethanol," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 1224-1232, April.
    9. Ríos-Badrán, Inés M. & Luzardo-Ocampo, Iván & García-Trejo, Juan Fernando & Santos-Cruz, José & Gutiérrez-Antonio, Claudia, 2020. "Production and characterization of fuel pellets from rice husk and wheat straw," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 500-507.
    10. Mohammad I. Jahirul & Mohammad G. Rasul & Ashfaque Ahmed Chowdhury & Nanjappa Ashwath, 2012. "Biofuels Production through Biomass Pyrolysis —A Technological Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-50, November.
    11. da Silva, Sandra Bezerra & Arantes, Marina Donária Chaves & de Andrade, Jaily Kerller Batista & Andrade, Carlos Rogério & Carneiro, Angélica de Cássia Oliveira & Protásio, Thiago de Paula, 2020. "Influence of physical and chemical compositions on the properties and energy use of lignocellulosic biomass pellets in Brazil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 1870-1879.
    12. Basu, Prabir & Butler, James & Leon, Mathias A., 2011. "Biomass co-firing options on the emission reduction and electricity generation costs in coal-fired power plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 282-288.
    13. Yan Xu & Kun Yang & Jiahui Zhou & Guohao Zhao, 2020. "Coal-Biomass Co-Firing Power Generation Technology: Current Status, Challenges and Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    14. Bhoi, P.R. & Ouedraogo, A.S. & Soloiu, V. & Quirino, R., 2020. "Recent advances on catalysts for improving hydrocarbon compounds in bio-oil of biomass catalytic pyrolysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    15. Jaya Shankar Tumuluru, 2019. "Pelleting of Pine and Switchgrass Blends: Effect of Process Variables and Blend Ratio on the Pellet Quality and Energy Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-26, March.
    16. I. A. Vasalos & A. A. Lappas & E. P. Kopalidou & K. G. Kalogiannis, 2016. "Biomass catalytic pyrolysis: process design and economic analysis," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 370-383, May.
    17. Alakoski, Esa & Jämsén, Miia & Agar, David & Tampio, Elina & Wihersaari, Margareta, 2016. "From wood pellets to wood chips, risks of degradation and emissions from the storage of woody biomass – A short review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 376-383.
    18. Lauri, Pekka & Havlík, Petr & Kindermann, Georg & Forsell, Nicklas & Böttcher, Hannes & Obersteiner, Michael, 2014. "Woody biomass energy potential in 2050," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 19-31.
    19. He, Lixia & English, Burton C. & De La Torre Ugarte, Daniel G. & Hodges, Donald G., 2014. "Woody biomass potential for energy feedstock in United States," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 174-191.
    20. García-Velásquez, Carlos A. & Cardona, Carlos A., 2019. "Comparison of the biochemical and thermochemical routes for bioenergy production: A techno-economic (TEA), energetic and environmental assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 232-242.
    21. Im-orb, Karittha & Arpornwichanop, Amornchai, 2020. "Process and sustainability analyses of the integrated biomass pyrolysis, gasification, and methanol synthesis process for methanol production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Solarte-Toro, Juan Camilo & Ortiz-Sanchez, Mariana & Cardona Alzate, Carlos Ariel, 2023. "Sustainability analysis of biorefineries based on country socio-economic and environmental context: A step-by-step way for the integral analysis of biomass upgrading processes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1147-1157.
    2. Shahbeik, Hossein & Peng, Wanxi & Kazemi Shariat Panahi, Hamed & Dehhaghi, Mona & Guillemin, Gilles J. & Fallahi, Alireza & Amiri, Hamid & Rehan, Mohammad & Raikwar, Deepak & Latine, Hannes & Pandalon, 2022. "Synthesis of liquid biofuels from biomass by hydrothermal gasification: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Mahmoud G. Hemeida & Ashraf M. Hemeida & Tomonobu Senjyu & Dina Osheba, 2022. "Renewable Energy Resources Technologies and Life Cycle Assessment: Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-36, December.
    4. Ashfaq Ahmed & Muhammad S. Abu Bakar & Abdul Razzaq & Syarif Hidayat & Farrukh Jamil & Muhammad Nadeem Amin & Rahayu S. Sukri & Noor S. Shah & Young-Kwon Park, 2021. "Characterization and Thermal Behavior Study of Biomass from Invasive Acacia mangium Species in Brunei Preceding Thermochemical Conversion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, May.
    5. Douvartzides, Savvas & Charisiou, Nikolaos D. & Wang, Wen & Papadakis, Vagelis G. & Polychronopoulou, Kyriaki & Goula, Maria A., 2022. "Catalytic fast pyrolysis of agricultural residues and dedicated energy crops for the production of high energy density transportation biofuels. Part I: Chemical pathways and bio-oil upgrading," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 483-505.
    6. Mariyam, Sabah & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Al-Ansari, Tareq & Mackey, Hamish. R & McKay, Gordon, 2022. "A critical review on co-gasification and co-pyrolysis for gas production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    7. Oh, Juhyun & Suh, Dong Hee, 2024. "Exploring the import allocation of wood pellets: Insights from price and policy influences under the renewable portfolio standard," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. Anna Borkowska & Kamila Klimek & Grzegorz Maj & Magdalena Kapłan, 2024. "Analysis of the Energy Potential of Hazelnut Husk Depending on the Variety," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhu, Youjian & Yang, Wei & Fan, Jiyuan & Kan, Tao & Zhang, Wennan & Liu, Heng & Cheng, Wei & Yang, Haiping & Wu, Xuehong & Chen, Hanping, 2018. "Effect of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose addition on particulate matter emissions during biomass pellet combustion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 925-934.
    2. Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Tomasz Noszczyk, 2019. "The Influence of Freezing Temperature Storage on the Mechanical Durability of Commercial Pellets from Biomass," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Zhang, Zhikun & Zhu, Zongyuan & Shen, Boxiong & Liu, Lina, 2019. "Insights into biochar and hydrochar production and applications: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 581-598.
    4. Leonel J. R. Nunes & Abel M. Rodrigues & João C. O. Matias & Ana I. Ferraz & Ana C. Rodrigues, 2021. "Production of Biochar from Vine Pruning: Waste Recovery in the Wine Industry," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Martino, Gaetano & Polinori, Paolo & Bufacchi, Marina & Rossetti, Enrica, 2020. "The biomass potential availability from olive cropping in Italy in a business perspective: Methodological approach and tentative estimates," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 526-534.
    6. Gouws, S.M. & Carrier, M. & Bunt, J.R. & Neomagus, H.W.J.P., 2021. "Co-pyrolysis of coal and raw/torrefied biomass: A review on chemistry, kinetics and implementation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Mostafa, Mohamed E. & Hu, Song & Wang, Yi & Su, Sheng & Hu, Xun & Elsayed, Saad A. & Xiang, Jun, 2019. "The significance of pelletization operating conditions: An analysis of physical and mechanical characteristics as well as energy consumption of biomass pellets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 332-348.
    8. M. Synek & J. Vašíček & M. Zeman, 2014. "Outlook of logging perspectives in the Czech Republic for the period 2013-2032," Journal of Forest Science, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 60(9), pages 372-381.
    9. Tiziana Maria Sirangelo & Richard Andrew Ludlow & Tatiana Chenet & Luisa Pasti & Natasha Damiana Spadafora, 2023. "Multi-Omics and Genome Editing Studies on Plant Cell Walls to Improve Biomass Quality," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, March.
    10. Yahya, Muhammad & Kanjilal, Kakali & Dutta, Anupam & Uddin, Gazi Salah & Ghosh, Sajal, 2021. "Can clean energy stock price rule oil price? New evidences from a regime-switching model at first and second moments," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    11. Benítez, Almudena & Amaro-Gahete, Juan & Chien, Yu-Chuan & Caballero, Álvaro & Morales, Julián & Brandell, Daniel, 2022. "Recent advances in lithium-sulfur batteries using biomass-derived carbons as sulfur host," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Guo, Feihong & Chen, Jun & He, Yi & Gardy, Jabbar & Sun, Yahui & Jiang, Jingyu & Jiang, Xiaoxiang, 2022. "Upgrading agro-pellets by torrefaction and co-pelletization process using food waste as a pellet binder," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 213-224.
    13. Randall Jackson & Amir B. Ferreira Neto & Elham Erfanian, 2016. "Woody Biomass Processing: Potential Economic Impacts on Rural Regions," Working Papers Working Paper 2016-04-v3, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    14. Aui, A. & Wang, Y. & Mba-Wright, M., 2021. "Evaluating the economic feasibility of cellulosic ethanol: A meta-analysis of techno-economic analysis studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    15. Wu, Wenchao & Hasegawa, Tomoko & Fujimori, Shinichiro & Takahashi, Kiyoshi & Oshiro, Ken, 2020. "Assessment of bioenergy potential and associated costs in Japan for the 21st century," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 308-321.
    16. A. Silveira, Edgar & Santanna Chaves, Bruno & Macedo, Lucélia & Ghesti, Grace F. & Evaristo, Rafael B.W. & Cruz Lamas, Giulia & Luz, Sandra M. & Protásio, Thiago de Paula & Rousset, Patrick, 2023. "A hybrid optimization approach towards energy recovery from torrefied waste blends," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 151-165.
    17. Fahmy, Hany, 2022. "The rise in investors’ awareness of climate risks after the Paris Agreement and the clean energy-oil-technology prices nexus," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    18. Reyes, Y.A. & Pérez, M. & Barrera, E.L. & Martínez, Y. & Cheng, K.K., 2022. "Thermochemical conversion processes of Dichrostachys cinerea as a biofuel: A review of the Cuban case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    19. Malico, Isabel & Nepomuceno Pereira, Ricardo & Gonçalves, Ana Cristina & Sousa, Adélia M.O., 2019. "Current status and future perspectives for energy production from solid biomass in the European industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 960-977.
    20. Vera Marcantonio & Danilo Monarca & Mauro Villarini & Andrea Di Carlo & Luca Del Zotto & Enrico Bocci, 2020. "Biomass Steam Gasification, High-Temperature Gas Cleaning, and SOFC Model: A Parametric Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-13, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:136:y:2021:i:c:s136403212030664x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.