A 5 kW solar reactor prototype, subjected to radiative flux concentrations up to 2953 suns and operated at temperatures up to 1490 K, yielded high-quality syngas of typical molar ratios H2/CO = 1.5 and CO2/CO = 0.2, and with a calorific content up to 30% upgraded over that of the input feedstock.
Such volumes of feedstock supply to biofuel uses will affect current straw markets (Glithero et al., 2013a), driving up product prices; the response of livestock farmers to this price increase is currently unknown but is of fundamental importance to any competing CPSGB industry, because the input feedstock cost is likely to form a substantial proportion of the overall costs of biofuel production.
Warm-season legumes can provide a low-input feedstock for biofuel, but research comparing the biomass and N content is lacking.
The present study investigates the extraction of lignin from rice straw by bi-directional delignification methodology through minimal energy input towards feedstock preparation for bio-fuel production.
For example, the yield of xylose from xylan during a pretreatment experiment is calculated by measuring the composition of the input biomass feedstock and the biomass slurry after pretreatment.
The energy efficiency, based on the lower heating values (LHV), was defined as the energy output in the products (ethanol, biogas, electricity and district heat) divided by the energy input from feedstock (155.2 MW), molasses (7.0 MW), enzymes (9.4 MW), and the energy input in the form of electrical energy (converted to its heat equivalent, calculated using an electricity-to-heat ratio of 0.4).
The overarching agricultural method evaluated in this research is that of cultivating low-input biofuel feedstock on marginal lands.
When each part of the reactor's temperatures is stabilized for 5 min and the feedstock has reached given temperature, the oil pump is started for reflux for 2 min to make sure the accuracy of input quantity of feedstock.
The main advantages of the proposed approach relate to continuous input of carbon feedstock materials into plasma zone, relatively low energy cost of carbon vaporization and usage of low cost carbon black produced from waste hydrocarbons.
These input parameters include feedstock composition and calculated yields for the three unit operations (pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation).
