IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2019i23p4415-d289127.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Characterization of Pure and Blended Pellets Made from Norway Spruce and Pea Starch: A Comparative Study of Bonding Mechanism Relevant to Quality

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony Ike Anukam

    (Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden)

  • Jonas Berghel

    (Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden)

  • Stefan Frodeson

    (Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden)

  • Elizabeth Bosede Famewo

    (Electron Microscopy Unit, Central Analytical Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa)

  • Pardon Nyamukamba

    (Technology Station Clothing and Textiles, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Symphony Way, Bellville 7580, South Africa)

Abstract

The mechanism of bonding in biomass pellets is such a complex event to comprehend, as the nature of the bonds formed between combining particles and their relevance to pellet quality are not completely understood. In this study, pure and blended biomass pellets made from Norway spruce and pea starch were characterized using advanced analytical instruments able to provide information beyond what is visible to the human eye, with intent to investigate differences in bonding mechanism relevant to quality. The results, which were comprehensively interpreted from a structural chemistry perspective, indicated that, at a molecular level, the major disparity in bonding mechanism between particles of the pellets and the quality of the pellets, defined in terms of strength and burning efficiency, were determined by variation in the concentration of polar functional groups emanating from the major organic and elemental components of the pellets, as well as the strength of the bonds between atoms of these groups. Microscopic-level analysis, which did not provide any clear morphological features that could be linked to incongruity in quality, showed fracture surfaces of the pellets and patterns of surface roughness, as well as the mode of interconnectivity of particles, which were evidence of the production of pellets with dissimilarities in particle bonding mechanism and visual appearance.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony Ike Anukam & Jonas Berghel & Stefan Frodeson & Elizabeth Bosede Famewo & Pardon Nyamukamba, 2019. "Characterization of Pure and Blended Pellets Made from Norway Spruce and Pea Starch: A Comparative Study of Bonding Mechanism Relevant to Quality," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:23:p:4415-:d:289127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/23/4415/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/23/4415/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Granada, E & López González, L.M & Míguez, J.L & Moran, J, 2002. "Fuel lignocellulosic briquettes, die design and products study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 561-573.
    2. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Kuo, Po-Chih, 2011. "Torrefaction and co-torrefaction characterization of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin as well as torrefaction of some basic constituents in biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 803-811.
    3. Prins, Mark J. & Ptasinski, Krzysztof J. & Janssen, Frans J.J.G., 2006. "More efficient biomass gasification via torrefaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(15), pages 3458-3470.
    4. 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.
    5. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Kuo, Po-Chih, 2010. "A study on torrefaction of various biomass materials and its impact on lignocellulosic structure simulated by a thermogravimetry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 2580-2586.
    6. Anukam, Anthony & Mamphweli, Sampson & Reddy, Prashant & Meyer, Edson & Okoh, Omobola, 2016. "Pre-processing of sugarcane bagasse for gasification in a downdraft biomass gasifier system: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 775-801.
    7. Liu, Zhengang & Quek, Augustine & Balasubramanian, R., 2014. "Preparation and characterization of fuel pellets from woody biomass, agro-residues and their corresponding hydrochars," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1315-1322.
    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. Andrzej Kuranc & Monika Stoma & Leszek Rydzak & Monika Pilipiuk, 2020. "Durability Assessment of Wooden Pellets in Relation with Vibrations Occurring in a Logistic Process of the Final Product," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Anukam, Anthony & Berghel, Jonas & Henrikson, Gunnar & Frodeson, Stefan & Ståhl, Magnus, 2021. "A review of the mechanism of bonding in densified biomass pellets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    3. Espinoza-Monje, J. Flavio & Garcés, Hugo O. & Díaz, Juan & Adam, Roman & Lazo, Jorge & Muñoz, Robinson & Coronado, Matías & Saiz, Gustavo & Azócar, Laura, 2024. "Investigating the properties of shrub biomass pellets through additive and sawdust admixing," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    4. Stefan Frodeson & Anthony Ike Anukam & Jonas Berghel & Magnus Ståhl & Rasika Lasanthi Kudahettige Nilsson & Gunnar Henriksson & Elizabeth Bosede Aladejana, 2021. "Densification of Wood—Influence on Mechanical and Chemical Properties when 11 Naturally Occurring Substances in Wood Are Mixed with Beech and Pine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Wentao Li & Mingfeng Wang & Fanbin Meng & Yifei Zhang & Bo Zhang, 2022. "A Review on the Effects of Pretreatment and Process Parameters on Properties of Pellets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, October.
    6. Jakub Styks & Marek Wróbel & Jarosław Frączek & Adrian Knapczyk, 2020. "Effect of Compaction Pressure and Moisture Content on Quality Parameters of Perennial Biomass Pellets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Sergio Paniagua & Alba Prado-Guerra & Ana Isabel Neto & Teresa Nunes & Luís Tarelho & Célia Alves & Luis Fernando Calvo, 2020. "Influence of Varieties and Organic Fertilizer in the Elaboration of a New Poplar-Straw Pellet and Its Emissions in a Domestic Boiler," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.

    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. Batidzirai, B. & Mignot, A.P.R. & Schakel, W.B. & Junginger, H.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2013. "Biomass torrefaction technology: Techno-economic status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-214.
    2. Tran, Khanh-Quang & Luo, Xun & Seisenbaeva, Gulaim & Jirjis, Raida, 2013. "Stump torrefaction for bioenergy application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 539-546.
    3. 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.
    4. Niu, Yanqing & Lv, Yuan & Lei, Yu & Liu, Siqi & Liang, Yang & Wang, Denghui & Hui, Shi'en, 2019. "Biomass torrefaction: properties, applications, challenges, and economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    5. Wilk, Małgorzata & Magdziarz, Aneta & Kalemba, Izabela, 2015. "Characterisation of renewable fuels' torrefaction process with different instrumental techniques," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 259-269.
    6. Nunes, L.J.R. & Matias, J.C.O. & Catalão, J.P.S., 2014. "A review on torrefied biomass pellets as a sustainable alternative to coal in power generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 153-160.
    7. Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Yu, Kai Ling & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Pillejera, Ma Katreena & Bi, Xiaotao & Tran, Khanh-Quang & Pétrissans, Anelie & Pétrissans, Mathieu, 2021. "Variation of lignocellulosic biomass structure from torrefaction: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    8. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Kuo, Po-Chih & Liu, Shih-Hsien & Wu, Wei, 2014. "Thermal characterization of oil palm fiber and eucalyptus in torrefaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 40-48.
    9. Dan Liu & Da Teng & Yan Zhu & Xingde Wang & Hanyang Wang, 2023. "Optimization of Process Parameters for Pellet Production from Corn Stalk Rinds Using Box–Behnken Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-20, June.
    10. Martínez, Laura V. & Rubiano, Jairo E. & Figueredo, Manuel & Gómez, María F., 2020. "Experimental study on the performance of gasification of corncobs in a downdraft fixed bed gasifier at various conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1216-1226.
    11. Wu, Keng-Tung & Tsai, Chia-Ju & Chen, Chih-Shen & Chen, Hsiao-Wei, 2012. "The characteristics of torrefied microalgae," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 52-57.
    12. Moya, Roger & Rodríguez-Zúñiga, Ana & Puente-Urbina, Allen & Gaitán-Álvarez, Johanna, 2018. "Study of light, middle and severe torrefaction and effects of extractives and chemical compositions on torrefaction process by thermogravimetric analysis in five fast-growing plantations of Costa Rica," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1-10.
    13. Abdul Waheed & Salman Raza Naqvi & Imtiaz Ali, 2022. "Co-Torrefaction Progress of Biomass Residue/Waste Obtained for High-Value Bio-Solid Products," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Kuo, Po-Chih, 2011. "Isothermal torrefaction kinetics of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin and xylan using thermogravimetric analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 6451-6460.
    15. Ping Wang & Bret H. Howard, 2017. "Impact of Thermal Pretreatment Temperatures on Woody Biomass Chemical Composition, Physical Properties and Microstructure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    16. Wentao Li & Mingfeng Wang & Fanbin Meng & Yifei Zhang & Bo Zhang, 2022. "A Review on the Effects of Pretreatment and Process Parameters on Properties of Pellets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, October.
    17. Singh, Rishikesh Kumar & Sarkar, Arnab & Chakraborty, Jyoti Prasad, 2020. "Effect of torrefaction on the physicochemical properties of eucalyptus derived biofuels: estimation of kinetic parameters and optimizing torrefaction using response surface methodology (RSM)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    18. Granados, D.A. & Velásquez, H.I. & Chejne, F., 2014. "Energetic and exergetic evaluation of residual biomass in a torrefaction process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 181-189.
    19. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Hsu, Huan-Chun & Lu, Ke-Miao & Lee, Wen-Jhy & Lin, Ta-Chang, 2011. "Thermal pretreatment of wood (Lauan) block by torrefaction and its influence on the properties of the biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 3012-3021.
    20. Bai, Xiaopeng & Wang, Guanghui & Zhu, Zheng & Cai, Chen & Wang, Zhiqin & Wang, Decheng, 2020. "Investigation of improving the yields and qualities of pyrolysis products with combination rod-milled and torrefaction pretreatment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 446-453.

    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:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:23:p:4415-:d:289127. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.