Green and Sustainable Biomass Processing
for Fuels and Chemicals
Kamaldeep Sharma, Saqib Sohail Toor, Ayaz Ali Shah,
and Lasse Aistrup Rosendahl
Abstract
Among different carbon sources, biomass is the most
abundant organic carbon source available for producing
renewable bio-oils and the value-added chemicals.
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a green method for
sustainable transformation of dry and wet waste biomass
to bio-oils and chemical products that are potentially
applicable as raw materials in chemical industries. Both
sub- and supercritical water possess interesting physicochemical properties, capable of dissolving a variety of
waste materials for chemical synthesis and production of
valuable liquid, gaseous and solid products. Under
supercritical conditions, reactions like supercritical water
gasification and supercritical water oxidation produce
hydrolyzed and depolymerized products useful as synthetic intermediates in chemical industries. This chapter
describes how hydrothermal conversion of waste biomass
of different types containing both sugar and non-sugar
derivatives leads to renewable biofuels and commodity
chemicals by abiding green chemistry principles. Further,
valorization of aqueous phase, obtained during hydrothermal processing, has also been discussed, including the
chemical composition, reuse and applications for the
chemical-enhanced recoveries. Therefore, the hydrothermal conversion of non-renewable waste biomass including agricultural waste, forest residue and organic (food)
waste into valuable chemicals products can generate the
wide opportunities for the development of sustainable
chemical industries.
Keywords
Waste biomass Á Sustainability Á Green chemistry Á
Hydrothermal liquefaction Á Sub- and supercritical
water Á Physical and chemical properties Á Aqueous
phase Á Recirculation Á Biorefinery Á Biofuels Á
Chemicals
1 Introduction
Owing to globalization of automobile industries, the demand
of energy is rapidly increasing. Globalization has not only
increased the total consumption of fossil fuels but also
enhanced significant environmental pollution. Because of
high consumption of conventional fuels, associated potentially dangerous gases such as CO 2 , CO, SO x , CH 4 , NO x ,
linked to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, have been
evacuated directly into ecosystem. Biomass being an alternative source of energy is responsible for 10–14% of global
energy requirement. By 2050, it is predicted that the global
supply of fossil fuels would be debilitated and almost half of
energy demand would be contributed by biomass (Tekin
et al. 2014; McKendry 2002; Saxena et al. 2009). Extensive
studies were carried out on the consumption of biomass as
main source of energy; interest in waste biomass as feedstocks rises in an increasing order (Cortright et al. 2002;
Román-Leshkov et al. 2007; Bond et al. 2010; Horne and
Williams 1995; Collard et al. 2012).
The composition of biomass varies from components but
generally includes a wide range of organic compounds, such
as lignin, proteins, cellulose, starch, hemicellulose, and
lipids. Among all the components, lignin, hemicellulose, and
cellulose are the key components of woody biomass.
Selection of a waste biomass feedstock as an energy carrier
K. Sharma (&) Á S. S. Toor Á A. A. Shah Á L. A. Rosendahl
Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University,
Pontoppidanstræde 111, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
e-mail: ksh@et.aau.dk
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin and A. Khan (eds.), Sustainable Bioconversion of Waste to Value Added Products, Advances in Science,
Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61837-7_2
23
for Fuels and Chemicals
Kamaldeep Sharma, Saqib Sohail Toor, Ayaz Ali Shah,
and Lasse Aistrup Rosendahl
Abstract
Among different carbon sources, biomass is the most
abundant organic carbon source available for producing
renewable bio-oils and the value-added chemicals.
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a green method for
sustainable transformation of dry and wet waste biomass
to bio-oils and chemical products that are potentially
applicable as raw materials in chemical industries. Both
sub- and supercritical water possess interesting physicochemical properties, capable of dissolving a variety of
waste materials for chemical synthesis and production of
valuable liquid, gaseous and solid products. Under
supercritical conditions, reactions like supercritical water
gasification and supercritical water oxidation produce
hydrolyzed and depolymerized products useful as synthetic intermediates in chemical industries. This chapter
describes how hydrothermal conversion of waste biomass
of different types containing both sugar and non-sugar
derivatives leads to renewable biofuels and commodity
chemicals by abiding green chemistry principles. Further,
valorization of aqueous phase, obtained during hydrothermal processing, has also been discussed, including the
chemical composition, reuse and applications for the
chemical-enhanced recoveries. Therefore, the hydrothermal conversion of non-renewable waste biomass including agricultural waste, forest residue and organic (food)
waste into valuable chemicals products can generate the
wide opportunities for the development of sustainable
chemical industries.
Keywords
Waste biomass Á Sustainability Á Green chemistry Á
Hydrothermal liquefaction Á Sub- and supercritical
water Á Physical and chemical properties Á Aqueous
phase Á Recirculation Á Biorefinery Á Biofuels Á
Chemicals
1 Introduction
Owing to globalization of automobile industries, the demand
of energy is rapidly increasing. Globalization has not only
increased the total consumption of fossil fuels but also
enhanced significant environmental pollution. Because of
high consumption of conventional fuels, associated potentially dangerous gases such as CO 2 , CO, SO x , CH 4 , NO x ,
linked to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, have been
evacuated directly into ecosystem. Biomass being an alternative source of energy is responsible for 10–14% of global
energy requirement. By 2050, it is predicted that the global
supply of fossil fuels would be debilitated and almost half of
energy demand would be contributed by biomass (Tekin
et al. 2014; McKendry 2002; Saxena et al. 2009). Extensive
studies were carried out on the consumption of biomass as
main source of energy; interest in waste biomass as feedstocks rises in an increasing order (Cortright et al. 2002;
Román-Leshkov et al. 2007; Bond et al. 2010; Horne and
Williams 1995; Collard et al. 2012).
The composition of biomass varies from components but
generally includes a wide range of organic compounds, such
as lignin, proteins, cellulose, starch, hemicellulose, and
lipids. Among all the components, lignin, hemicellulose, and
cellulose are the key components of woody biomass.
Selection of a waste biomass feedstock as an energy carrier
K. Sharma (&) Á S. S. Toor Á A. A. Shah Á L. A. Rosendahl
Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University,
Pontoppidanstræde 111, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
e-mail: ksh@et.aau.dk
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Inamuddin and A. Khan (eds.), Sustainable Bioconversion of Waste to Value Added Products, Advances in Science,
Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61837-7_2
23