(488b) Advances in Ultrasound- and Cavitation-Assisted Catalyzed Conversions of Biomass to Biofuels

The continuing effort to develop novel, eco-friendly, renewable and cost-effective bio-based processes to solve our energy scarcity and sustainability problems, is of great technological, societal, cultural, economic and political importance. However, the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels and bio-refinery applications is limited by the cost of pretreatment to separate or access the biomass’s three main components, cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. Ultrasound and cavitation-assisted technologies are green techniques that have the potential to enhance the separation and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials for use in biofuel production and bio-refineries, through physical and/or chemical mechanisms. We studied the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose using a multi-frequency ultrasonic reactor, and optimized glucose yield at 50°C and 5.2 pH. The best cellulose hydrolysis was observed at 611 kHz and 104 W. The effects of ultrasound and enzyme on the surface and structure of the cellulose were studied using BET, SEM, XRD and SHIM. We also demonstrated through laboratory experimentation coupled with optimization and mass transfer/reaction modeling that high-frequency ultrasound could achieve very high conversions of soybean oil to biodiesel at relatively low times and energy inputs via base-catalyzed transesterification using methanol, and both KOH and calcium methoxide catalysts. We also demonstrated that sulfated zirconia was highly efficient for esterification of free fatty acids (FFAs) in oils. This talk will discuss the state-of-the-art advances on the use of ultrasound and cavitation for the intensification of biomass conversion and synthesis of biofuels.

References:

• Adewuyi, Y.G. Intensification of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose Using High-Frequency Ultrasound. Chapter 8, Page 166-187. In: Intensification of Bio-Based Processes, A. Gorak and A. Stankiewicz (editors), Green Chemistry Series No. 5, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2018, 166-187.
• Adewuyi, G., and Deshmane, V.G., Intensification of Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose Using High Frequency Ultrasound. An Investigation of the Effects of Process Parameters on Glucose Yield, Energy & Fuels, 2015, 20: 4998–5006.
• Deshmane, V.G., and Adewuyi, Y.G. Mesoporous Nanocrystalline Sulfated Zirconia Synthesis and Its Application for FFA Esterification in Oils. Applied Catalysis A: General, 2013, 462-463: 196-
• Deshmane, V.G., and Adewuyi, Y.G. Synthesis and Kinetics of Biodiesel Formation via Calcium Methoxide Base-Catalyzed Transesterification Reaction in the Absence and Presence of Ultrasound, Fuel, 2013, 107: 474-482.
• Mahamuni, N.N., and Adewuyi, Y.G., Application of Taguchi Method to Investigate the Effects of Process Parameters on the Transesterification of Soybean Oil Using High Frequency Ultrasound, Energy & Fuels, 2010, 24: 2120-
• Mahamuni, N.N., and Adewuyi, Y.G., Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Method to Monitor Soy Biodiesel and Soybean Oil in Transesterification Reactions, Petrodiesel-Biodiesel and Blend Adulteration with Soy Oil, Energy & Fuels, 2009, 23: 3773-
• Mahamuni, N.N., and Adewuyi, Y.G., Optimization of the Synthesis of Biodiesel via Ultrasound-Enhanced Base-Catalyzed Transesterification of Soybean Oil Using a Multifrequency Ultrasonic Reactor, Energy & Fuels, 2009, 23: 757-