Prospects and challenges of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment of microalgae for enhancing bioenergy and resource recovery in anaerobic bioprocesses.

Microalgae have emerged as a promising feedstock for bioenergy production through anaerobic digestion and fermentation, gaining significant attention due to their rapid growth rate, ability to adapt to diverse environments, and rich biochemical composition. However, the recalcitrant nature of the microalgal cell wall necessitates pretreatment to enhance the accessibility of intracellular components and improve overall bioenergy yields from anaerobic digestion/fermentation. Among the various pretreatment methods, the thermal hydrolysis process has proven to be a promising strategy for enhancing the efficiency of bioenergy recovery from microalgal biomass.

Coupling hydrothermal liquefaction and anaerobic digestion for waste biomass valorization: A review in context of circular economy.

In light of the substantial global production of biomass waste, effective waste management and energy recovery solutions are of paramount importance. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and anaerobic digestion (AD) have emerged as innovative techniques for converting biomass waste into valuable resources. Their integration creates a synergistic framework that mitigates inherent limitations, leading to improved efficiency, enhanced product quality, and the comprehensive utilization of biomass.

Mechanism of soot and particulate matter formation during high temperature pyrolysis and gasification of waste derived from MSW.

This research investigates the formation mechanism of soot and particulate matter during the pyrolysis and gasification of waste derived from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in a laboratory scale drop tube furnace. Compared with CO gasification atmosphere, more ultrafine particles (PM, aerodynamic diameter less than 0.2 μm) were generated in N atmosphere at 1200℃, which were mainly composed of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), graphitic carbonaceous soot and volatile alkali salts.

Effecting pattern study of SO on Hg removal over α-MnO in-situ supported magnetic composite.

α-MnO was in-situ supported onto silica coated magnetite nanoparticles (MagS-Mn) to study the adsorption and oxidation of Hg as well as the effecting patterns of SO and O on Hg removal. MagS-Mn showed Hg removal capacity of 1122.6 μg/g at 150 °C with the presence of SO.

Production of H and CNM from biogas decomposition using biosolids-derived biochar and the application of the CNM-coated biochar for PFAS adsorption.

Anaerobic digestion is a popular unit operation in wastewater treatment to degrade organic contaminants, thereby generating biogas (methane-rich gas stream). Catalytic decomposition of the biogas could be a promising upcycling approach to produce renewable hydrogen and sequester carbon in the form of carbon nanomaterials (CNMs). Biosolids are solid waste generated during the wastewater treatment process, which can be valorised to biochar via pyrolysis.

Inherent thermal regeneration performance of different MnO crystallographic structures for mercury removal.

Manganese oxides with different crystallographic structures were investigated for gas-phase elemental mercury removal. The inherent thermal regeneration performance and mechanism of α- and γ-MnO were studied. The manganese dioxides were found to possess a mercury removal efficiency of higher than 96% even after 120 min mercury exposure except for β-MnO which removed much less mercury than MnO.

Metal oxide nanoparticle-modified graphene oxide for removal of elemental mercury.

Mercury is an extremely toxic element that is primarily released by anthropogenic activities and natural sources. Controlling Hg emissions, especially from coal combustion flue gas, is of practical importance in protecting the environment and preventing human health risks. In the present work, three metal oxides (MnO, CuO, and ZnO) were loaded on graphene oxide (GO) sorbents (designated as MnO-GO, CuO-GO, and ZnO-GO).

Silica-Silver Nanocomposites as Regenerable Sorbents for Hg Removal from Flue Gases.

Silica-silver nanocomposites (Ag-SBA-15) are a novel class of multifunctional materials with potential applications as sorbents, catalysts, sensors, and disinfectants. In this work, an innovative yet simple and robust method of depositing silver nanoparticles on a mesoporous silica (SBA-15) was developed. The synthesized Ag-SBA-15 was found to achieve a complete capture of Hg at temperatures up to 200 °C.

Bromination of petroleum coke for elemental mercury capture.

Activated carbon injection has been proven to be an effective control technology of mercury emission from coal-fired power plants. Petroleum coke is a waste by-product of petroleum refining with large quantities readily available around the world. Due to its high inherent sulfur content, petroleum coke is an attractive raw material for developing mercury capture sorbent, converting a waste material to a value-added product of important environmental applications.

Progress in carbon dioxide separation and capture: a review.

This article reviews the progress made in CO2 separation and capture research and engineering. Various technologies, such as absorption, adsorption, and membrane separation, are thoroughly discussed. New concepts such as chemical-looping combustion and hydrate-based separation are also introduced briefly.

A first approximation kinetic model to predict methane generation from an oil sands tailings settling basin.

A small fraction of the naphtha diluent used for oil sands processing escapes with tailings and supports methane (CH(4)) biogenesis in large anaerobic settling basins such as Mildred Lake Settling Basin (MLSB) in northern Alberta, Canada. Based on the rate of naphtha metabolism in tailings incubated in laboratory microcosms, a kinetic model comprising lag phase, rate of hydrocarbon metabolism and conversion to CH(4) was developed to predict CH(4) biogenesis and flux from MLSB. Zero- and first-order kinetic models, respectively predicted generation of 5.