My departmental seminar on my research work.

1. Pre-treatment of lignocellulosic
biomass
Jiby Kurian
Ph. D. Student
Bioresource Engineering

2. Lignocellulosic biomass
Others 2-5%
Minerals 2-5%
Lignin 10-20% Cellulose
40-50 %
Hemicellulose
25-30%
brae.calpoly.edu

3. Value addition to lignocellulosic biomass

4. Pre-treatment of lignocelluloses
Mosier et al., 2006

5. Types of pre-treatment processes
Average
Pre-treatment Catalyst(s) used Temperature Final Treatment (s)
& Time
Acid, Alkali, H2O, 1500C, Enzymatic hydrolysis
Thermo-chemical Solvents 2-60 min. and fermentation
Biochemical Microorganisms, 300C, Fermentation
enzymes 24-72 hrs.
Thermal ------------------ 10000C, FT synthesis,
(Gasification) 2-30 min. Fermentation

6. Biofuel production: Today
Feedstock Harvesting Transporting
Storing
Pre-treatment and final processing
brae.calpoly.edu

7. The problems
• Low density of the resource (0.1-0.2 kg/m3)
• Scarcity and variability
• Environmental issues
• Not economical
Biomasshub.com

8. The solution: On-the-site Pre-treatment (OP)
Minerals
Energy
Cellulose
Lignin Biofuels
Bio-refinery
On-the-site Pre-treatment
Bioproducts
Hemicellulose
Industry
Farm

9. The benefits of OP for farmers
• Additional jobs
• Rural development
• Sustainable biomass production
"Not mass production, but production by the masses." – M. K. Gandhi

10. The benefits of OP for industries
• Compact, purified and specific raw materials
• Availability of raw materials
• Less capital investment

11. My research work
Cellulose
Biofuels, &
biomaterials
Hemicellulose
Biomass On-the-site
pre- Lignin Solid fuel
treatment
Fertilizer
Minerals

12. References
• http://afdelingen.kiviniria.net/media-
afdelingen/DOM100000178/Presentaties/2011/Kersten_19-05-2011.pdf
• Eranki et al., (2011) Advanced regional biomass processing depots: A key
to the logistical challenges to the cellulosic biofuel industry.
Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol 5(6), pp 621-630.
• http://www.businesschemistry.org/article/?article=121
• Carolan et al., (2007) Technical and Financial Feasibility Analysis of
Distributed Bioprocessing Using Regional Biomass Pre-Processing Centers.
Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization Vol. 5 [2007], Article
10

13. Acknowledgement
• Supervisor:
• Course instructor:
• Reviewers
• Friends