The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass

Bioenergy, derived from biomass and/or biological (or biomass-derived) waste residues, has been acknowledged as a sustainable and clean burning source of renewable energy with the potential to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels (such as oil and natural gas). However, many bioenergy processes requir...

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Main Authors: Kostas, Emily T., Beneroso, Daniel, Robinson, John P.
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42703/
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author Kostas, Emily T.
Beneroso, Daniel
Robinson, John P.
author_facet Kostas, Emily T.
Beneroso, Daniel
Robinson, John P.
author_sort Kostas, Emily T.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Bioenergy, derived from biomass and/or biological (or biomass-derived) waste residues, has been acknowledged as a sustainable and clean burning source of renewable energy with the potential to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels (such as oil and natural gas). However, many bioenergy processes require some form of pre-treatment and/or upgrading procedure for biomass to generate a modified residue with more suitable properties and render it more compatible with the specific energy conversion route chosen. Many of these pre-treatments (or upgrading procedures) involve some form of substantive heating of the biomass to achieve this modification. Microwave (MW) heating has attracted much attention in recent years due to the advantages associated with dielectric heating effects. These advantages include rapid and efficient heating in a controlled environment, increasing processing rates and substantially shortening reaction times by up to 80%. However, despite this interest, the growth of industrial MW heating applications for bioenergy production has been hindered by a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of the MW heating mechanism when applied to biomass and waste residues. This article presents a review of the current scientific literature associated with the application of microwave heating for both the pre-treatment and upgrading of various biomass feedstocks across different bioenergy conversion pathways including thermal and biochemical processes. The fundamentals behind microwave heating will be explained, as well as discussion of the imperative areas which require further research and development to bridge the gap between fundamental science in the laboratory and the successful application of this technology at a commercial scale.
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spelling nottingham-427032020-05-04T19:55:49Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42703/ The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass Kostas, Emily T. Beneroso, Daniel Robinson, John P. Bioenergy, derived from biomass and/or biological (or biomass-derived) waste residues, has been acknowledged as a sustainable and clean burning source of renewable energy with the potential to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels (such as oil and natural gas). However, many bioenergy processes require some form of pre-treatment and/or upgrading procedure for biomass to generate a modified residue with more suitable properties and render it more compatible with the specific energy conversion route chosen. Many of these pre-treatments (or upgrading procedures) involve some form of substantive heating of the biomass to achieve this modification. Microwave (MW) heating has attracted much attention in recent years due to the advantages associated with dielectric heating effects. These advantages include rapid and efficient heating in a controlled environment, increasing processing rates and substantially shortening reaction times by up to 80%. However, despite this interest, the growth of industrial MW heating applications for bioenergy production has been hindered by a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of the MW heating mechanism when applied to biomass and waste residues. This article presents a review of the current scientific literature associated with the application of microwave heating for both the pre-treatment and upgrading of various biomass feedstocks across different bioenergy conversion pathways including thermal and biochemical processes. The fundamentals behind microwave heating will be explained, as well as discussion of the imperative areas which require further research and development to bridge the gap between fundamental science in the laboratory and the successful application of this technology at a commercial scale. Elsevier 2017-09 Article PeerReviewed Kostas, Emily T., Beneroso, Daniel and Robinson, John P. (2017) The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 77 . pp. 12-27. ISSN 1364-0321 Biomass; Pre-treatment; Upgrading; Microwave heating; Bioenergy http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117304690 doi:10.1016/j.rser.2017.03.135 doi:10.1016/j.rser.2017.03.135
spellingShingle Biomass; Pre-treatment; Upgrading; Microwave heating; Bioenergy
Kostas, Emily T.
Beneroso, Daniel
Robinson, John P.
The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
title The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
title_full The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
title_fullStr The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
title_full_unstemmed The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
title_short The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
title_sort application of microwave heating in bioenergy: a review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass
topic Biomass; Pre-treatment; Upgrading; Microwave heating; Bioenergy
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42703/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42703/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42703/