Hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis

Water electrolysis is one of the simplest methods used for hydrogen production. It has the advantage of being able to produce hydrogen using only renewable energy. To expand the use of water electrolysis, it is mandatory to reduce energy consumption, cost, and maintenance of current electrolyzers, and, on the other hand, to increase their efficiency, durability, and safety. In this study, modern technologies for hydrogen production by water electrolysis have been investigated. In this article, the electrochemical fundamentals of alkaline water electrolysis are explained and the main process constraints (e.g., electrical, reaction, and transport) are analyzed. The historical background of water electrolysis is described, different technologies are compared, and main research needs for the development of water electrolysis technologies are discussed.

Effect of forest-based biofuels production on carbon footprint, Case: Integrated LWC paper mill

International energy and climate strategies also set Finland’s commitments to increasing the use of renewable energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The target can be achieved by, for example, increasing the use of energy wood. Finland’s forest biomass potential is significant compared with current use. Increased use will change forest management and wood harvesting methods however. The thesis examined the potential for integrated pulp and paper mills to increase bioenergy production. The effects of two bioenergy production technologies on the carbon footprint of an integrated LWC mill were studied at mill level and from the cradle-to-customer approach. The LignoBoost process and FT diesel production were chosen as bioenergy cases. The data for the LignoBoost process were obtained from Metso and for the FT diesel process from Neste Oil. The rest of the information is based on the literature and databases of the KCL-ECO life-cycle computer program and Ecoinvent. In both case studies, the carbon footprint was reduced. From the results, it can be concluded that it is possible to achieve a fossil-fuel-free pulp mill with the LignoBoost process. By using steam from the FT diesel process, the amount of auxiliary fuel can be reduced considerably and the bark boiler can be replaced. With a choice of auxiliary fuels for use in heat production in the paper mill and the production methods for purchased electricity, it is possible to affect the carbon footprints even more in both cases.

Forest Biomass Resources and Technological Prospects for the Production of Second-generation Biofuels in Finland by 2020

Introduction of second-generation biofuels is an essential factor for meeting the EU’s 2020 targets for renewable energy in the transport sector and enabling the more ambitious targets for 2030. Finland’s forest industry is strongly involved in the development and commercialising of second-generation biofuel production technologies. The goal of this paper is to provide a quantified insight into Finnish prospects for reaching the 2020 national renewable energy targets and concurrently becoming a large-scale producer of forest biomass based second-generation biofuels feeding the increasing demand in European markets. The focus of the paper is on assessing the potential for utilising forest biomass for liquid biofuels up to 2020. In addition, technological issues related to the production of second-generation biofuels were reviewed. Finland has good opportunities to realise a scenario to meet 2020 renewable energy targets and for large-scale production of wood based biofuels. In 2020, biofuel production from domestic forest biomass in Finland may reach nearly a million ton (40 PJ). With the existing biofuel production capacity (20 PJ/yr) and national biofuel consumption target (25 PJ) taken into account, the potential net export of biofuels from Finland in 2020 would be 35 PJ, corresponding to 2–3% of European demand. Commercialisation of second-generation biofuel production technologies, high utilisation of the sustainable harvesting potential of Finnish forest biomass, and allocation of a significant proportion of the pulpwood harvesting potential for energy purposes are prerequisites for this scenario. Large-scale import of raw biomass would enable remarkably greater biofuel production than is described in this paper.

Developing markets of energy biomass – local and global perspectives

The thesis explores global and national-level issues related to the development of markets for biomass for energy. The thesis consists of five separate papers and provides insights on selected issues. The aim of Paper I was to identify methodological and statistical challenges in assessing international solid and liquid biofuels trade and provide an overview of the Finnish situation with respect to the status of international solid and liquid biofuels trade. We found that, for the Finnish case, it is possible to qualify direct and indirect trade volumes of biofuels. The study showed that indirect trade of biofuels has a highly significant role in Finland and may be a significant sector also in global biofuels trade. The purpose of Paper II was to provide a quantified insight into Finnish prospects for meeting the national 2020 renewable energy targets and concurrently becoming a largescale producer of forest-biomass-based second-generation biofuels for feeding increasing demand in European markets. We found that Finland has good opportunities to realise a scenario to meet 2020 renewable energy targets and for large-scale production of wood-based biofuels. The potential net export of transport biofuels from Finland in 2020 would correspond to 2–3% of European demand. Paper III summarises the global status of international solid and liquid biofuels trade as illuminated by several separate sources. International trade of biofuels was estimated at nearly 1 EJ for 2006. Indirect trade of biofuels through trading of industrial roundwood and material by-products comprises the largest proportion of the trading, with a share of about two thirds. The purpose of Paper IV was to outline a comprehensive picture of the coverage of various certification schemes and sustainability principles relating to the entire value-added chain of biomass and bioenergy. Regardless of the intensive work that has been done in the field of sustainability schemes and principles concerning use of biomass for energy, weaknesses still exist. The objective of Paper V was to clarify the alternative scenarios for the international biomass market until 2020 and identify the underlying steps needed toward a wellfunctioning and sustainable market for biomass for energy purposes. An overall conclusion drawn from this analysis concerns the enormous opportunities related to the utilisation of biomass for energy in the coming decades.

Potential of biogas production from swine manure supplemented with glycerine waste

In this study, was studied the biogas generation from swine manure, using residual glycerine supplementation. The biogas production by digestion occurred in the anaerobic batch system under mesophilic conditions (35°C), with a hydraulic retention time of 48 days. The experiment was performed with 48 samples divided into four groups, from these, one was kept as a control (without glycerin) and the other three groups were respectively supplemented with residual glycerine in the percentage of 3%, 6% and 9% of the total volume of the samples. The volume of biogas was controlled by an automated system for reading in laboratory scale and the quality of the biogas (CH4) measured from a specific sensor. The results showed that the residual glycerine has high potential for biogas production, with increases of 124.95%, 156.98% and 197.83% in the groups 3%, 6% and 9%, respectively, relative to the sample control. However, very high organic loads can compromise the process of digestion affecting the quality of the biogas generated in relation to methane.

Hydrogen production from cassava processing wastewater in an anaerobic fixed bed reactor with bamboo as a support material

Attempting to associate waste treatment to the production of clean and renewable energy, this research sought to evaluate the biological production of hydrogen using wastewater from the cassava starch treatment industry, generated during the processes of extraction and purification of starch. This experiment was carried out in a continuous anaerobic reactor with a working volume of 3L, with bamboo stems as the support medium. The system was operated at a temperature of 36°C, an initial pH of 6.0 and under variations of organic load. The highest rate of hydrogen production, of 1.1 L.d-1.L-1, was obtained with application of an organic loading rate of 35 g.L-1.d-1, in terms of total sugar content and hydraulic retention time of 3h, with a prevalence of butyric and acetic acids as final products of the fermentation process. Low C/N ratios contributed to the excessive growth of the biomass, causing a reduction of up to 35% in hydrogen production, low percentages of H2 and high concentrations of CO2in the biogas.

Development of a measuring-control system for energy monitoring in low power

In this thesis a control system for an intelligent low voltage energy grid is presented, focusing on the control system created by using a multi-agent approach which makes it versatile and easy to expand according to the future needs. The control system is capable of forecasting the future energy consumption and decisions making on its own without human interaction when countering problems. The control system is a part of the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University’s smart grid project that aims to create a smart grid for the university’s own use. The concept of the smart grid is interesting also for the consumers as it brings new possibilities to control own energy consumption and to save money. Smart grids makes it possible to monitor the energy consumption in real-time and to change own habits to save money. The intelligent grid also brings possibilities to integrate the renewable energy sources to the global or the local energy production much better than the current systems. Consumers can also sell their extra power to the global grid if they want.

Greenhouse gas emissions from peat and biomass-derived fuels, electricity and heat — Estimation of various production chains by using LCA methodology

More discussion is required on how and which types of biomass should be used to achieve a significant reduction in the carbon load released into the atmosphere in the short term. The energy sector is one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters and thus its role in climate change mitigation is important. Replacing fossil fuels with biomass has been a simple way to reduce carbon emissions because the carbon bonded to biomass is considered as carbon neutral. With this in mind, this thesis has the following objectives: (1) to study the significance of the different GHG emission sources related to energy production from peat and biomass, (2) to explore opportunities to develop more climate friendly biomass energy options and (3) to discuss the importance of biogenic emissions of biomass systems. The discussion on biogenic carbon and other GHG emissions comprises four case studies of which two consider peat utilization, one forest biomass and one cultivated biomasses. Various different biomass types (peat, pine logs and forest residues, palm oil, rapeseed oil and jatropha oil) are used as examples to demonstrate the importance of biogenic carbon to life cycle GHG emissions. The biogenic carbon emissions of biomass are defined as the difference in the carbon stock between the utilization and the non-utilization scenarios of biomass. Forestry-drained peatlands were studied by using the high emission values of the peatland types in question to discuss the emission reduction potential of the peatlands. The results are presented in terms of global warming potential (GWP) values. Based on the results, the climate impact of the peat production can be reduced by selecting high-emission-level peatlands for peat production. The comparison of the two different types of forest biomass in integrated ethanol production in pulp mill shows that the type of forest biomass impacts the biogenic carbon emissions of biofuel production. The assessment of cultivated biomasses demonstrates that several selections made in the production chain significantly affect the GHG emissions of biofuels. The emissions caused by biofuel can exceed the emissions from fossil-based fuels in the short term if biomass is in part consumed in the process itself and does not end up in the final product. Including biogenic carbon and other land use carbon emissions into the carbon footprint calculations of biofuel reveals the importance of the time frame and of the efficiency of biomass carbon content utilization. As regards the climate impact of biomass energy use, the net impact on carbon stocks (in organic matter of soils and biomass), compared to the impact of the replaced energy source, is the key issue. Promoting renewable biomass regardless of biogenic GHG emissions can increase GHG emissions in the short term and also possibly in the long term.

Mitigation possibilities to Greenhouse gas emissions from power production in India

Global warming is assertively the greatest environmental challenge for humans of 21st century. It is primarily caused by the anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) that trap heat in the atmosphere. Because of which, the GHG emission mitigation, globally, is a critical issue in the political agenda of all high-profile nations. India, like other developing countries, is facing this threat of climate change while dealing with the challenge of sustaining its rapid economic growth. India’s economy is closely connected to its natural resource base and climate sensitive sectors like water, agriculture and forestry. Due to Climate change the quality and distribution of India’s natural resources may transform and lead to adverse effects on livelihood of its people. Therefore, India is expected to face a major threat due to the projected climate change. This study proposes possible solutions for GHG emission mitigation that are specific to the power sector of India. The methods discussed here will take Indian power sector from present coal dominant ideology to a system, centered with renewable energy sources. The study further proposes a future scenario for 2050, based on the present Indian government policies and global energy technologies advancements.

Container logistic innovations in forest-energy sector: Markets, future service concepts and technical improvements

The report presents the results of the commercialization project called the Container logistic services for forest bioenergy. The project promotes new business that is emerging around overall container logistic services in the bioenergy sector. The results assess the European markets of the container logistics for biomass, enablers for new business creation and required service bundles for the concept. We also demonstrate the customer value of the container logistic services for different market segments. The concept analysis is based on concept mapping, quality function deployment process (QFD) and business network analysis. The business network analysis assesses key shareholders and their mutual connections. The performance of the roadside chipping chain is analysed by the logistic cost simulation, RFID system demonstration and freezing tests. The EU has set the renewable energy target to 20 % in 2020 of which Biomass could account for two-thirds. In the Europe, the production of wood fuels was 132.9 million solid-m3 in 2012 and production of wood chips and particles was 69.0 million solidm3. The wood-based chips and particle flows are suitable for container transportation providing market of 180.6 million loose- m3 which mean 4.5 million container loads per year. The intermodal logistics of trucks and trains are promising for the composite containers because the biomass does not freeze onto the inner surfaces in the unloading situations. The overall service concept includes several packages: container rental, container maintenance, terminal services, RFID-tracking service, and simulation and ERP-integration service. The container rental and maintenance would provide transportation entrepreneurs a way to increase the capacity without high investment costs. The RFID-concept would lead to better work planning improving profitability throughout the logistic chain and simulation supports fuel supply optimization.

Deoxygenation of fatty acids for production of fuels and chemicals

The decreasing fossil fuel resources combined with an increasing world energy demand has raised an interest in renewable energy sources. The alternatives can be solar, wind and geothermal energies, but only biomass can be a substitute for the carbon–based feedstock, which is suitable for the production of transportation fuels and chemicals. However, a high oxygen content of the biomass creates challenges for the future chemical industry, forcing the development of new processes which allow a complete or selective oxygen removal without any significant carbon loss. Therefore, understanding and optimization of biomass deoxygenation processes are crucial for the future bio–based chemical industry. In this work, deoxygenation of fatty acids and their derivatives was studied over Pd/C and TiO2 supported noble metal catalysts (Pt, Pt–Re, Re and Ru) to obtain future fuel components. The 5 % Pd/C catalyst was investigated in semibatch and fixed bed reactors at 300 °C and 1.7–2 MPa of inert and hydrogen–containing atmospheres. Based on extensive kinetic studies, plausible reaction mechanisms and pathways were proposed. The influence of the unsaturation in the deoxygenation of model compounds and industrial feedstock – tall oil fatty acids – over a Pd/C catalyst was demonstrated. The optimization of the reaction conditions suppressed the formation of by–products, hence high yields and selectivities towards linear hydrocarbons and catalyst stability were achieved. Experiments in a fixed bed reactor filled with a 2 % Pd/C catalyst were performed with stearic acid as a model compound at different hydrogen–containing gas atmospheres to understand the catalyst stability under various conditions. Moreover, prolonged experiments were carried out with concentrated model compounds to reveal the catalyst deactivation. New materials were proposed for the selective deoxygenation process at lower temperatures (~200 °C) with a tunable selectivity to hydrodeoxygenation by using 4 % Pt/TiO2 or decarboxylation/decarbonylation over 4 % Ru/TiO2 catalysts. A new method for selective hydrogenation of fatty acids to fatty alcohols was demonstrated with a 4 % Re/TiO2 catalyst. A reaction pathway and mechanism for TiO2 supported metal catalysts was proposed and an optimization of the process conditions led to an increase in the formation of the desired products.

Advanced biofuel production: Engineering metabolic pathways for butanol and propane biosynthesis.

Greenhouse gases emitted from energy production and transportation are dramatically changing the climate of Planet Earth. As a consequence, global warming is affecting the living conditions of numerous plant and animal species, including ours. Thus the development of sustainable and renewable liquid fuels is an essential global challenge in order to combat the climate change. In the past decades many technologies have been developed as alternatives to currently used petroleum fuels, such as bioethanol and biodiesel. However, even with gradually increasing production, the market penetration of these first generation biofuels is still relatively small compared to fossil fuels. Researchers have long ago realized that there is a need for advanced biofuels with improved physical and chemical properties compared to bioethanol and with biomass raw materials not competing with food production. Several target molecules have been identified as potential fuel candidates, such as alkanes, fatty acids, long carbon‐chain alcohols and isoprenoids. The current study focuses on the biosynthesis of butanol and propane as possible biofuels. The scope of this research was to investigate novel heterologous metabolic pathways and to identify bottlenecks for alcohol and alkane generation using Escherichia coli as a model host microorganism. The first theme of the work studied the pathways generating butyraldehyde, the common denominator for butanol and propane biosynthesis. Two ways of generating butyraldehyde were described, one via the bacterial fatty acid elongation machinery and the other via partial overexpression of the acetone‐butanol‐ethanol fermentation pathway found in Clostridium acetobutylicum. The second theme of the experimental work studied the reduction of butyraldehyde to butanol catalysed by various bacterial aldehyde‐reductase enzymes, whereas the final part of the work investigated the in vivo kinetics of the cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO) for the generation of hydrocarbons. The results showed that the novel butanol pathway, based on fatty acid biosynthesis consisting of an acyl‐ACP thioesterase and a carboxylic acid reductase, is tolerant to oxygen, thus being an efficient alternative to the previous Clostridial pathways. It was also shown that butanol can be produced from acetyl‐CoA using acetoacetyl CoA synthase (NphT7) or acetyl‐CoA acetyltransferase (AtoB) enzymes. The study also demonstrated, for the first time, that bacterial biosynthesis of propane is possible. The efficiency of the system is clearly limited by the poor kinetic properties of the ADO enzyme, and for proper function in vivo, the catalytic machinery requires a coupled electron relay system.

Carbon sources for Power-to-Gas applications in the Finnish energy system

This thesis is done as a part of the NEOCARBON project. The aim of NEOCARBON project is to study a fully renewable energy system utilizing Power-to-Gas or Power-to-Liquid technology for energy storage. Power-to-Gas consists of two main operations: Hydrogen production via electrolysis and methane production via methanation. Methanation requires carbon dioxide and hydrogen as a raw material. This thesis studies the potential carbon dioxide sources within Finland. The different sources are ranked using the cost and energy penalty of the carbon capture, carbon biogenity and compatibility with Power-to-Gas. It can be concluded that in Finland there exists enough CO2 point sources to provide national PtG system with sufficient amounts of carbon. Pulp and paper industry is single largest producer of biogenic CO2 in Finland. It is possible to obtain single unit capable of grid balancing operations and energy transformations via Power-to-Gas and Gas-to-Power by coupling biogas plants with biomethanation and CHP units.

Potential of energy and nutrient recovery from biodegradable waste by co-treatment in Lithuania

Biodegradable waste quantities in Lithuania and their potential for the co-treatment in renewable energy and organic fertilizer production are investigated. Two scenarios are formulated to study the differences of the amounts of obtainable energy and fertilizers between different ways of utilization. In the first scenario, only digestion is used, and in the second scenario, other materials than straw are digested, and straw and the solid fraction of sewage sludge digestate are combusted. As a result, the amounts of heat and electricity, as well as the fertilizer amounts in the counties are obtained for both scenarios. Based on this study, the share of renewable energy in Lithuania could be doubled by the co-treatment of different biodegradable materials.

Studies on Energy Requirement and Conservation in Selected Fish Harvesting Systems

Present work deals with the studies on energy requirement and convervation in selected fish harvesting systems.Modem fishing is one of the most energy intensive methods of food production. Fossil fuels used for motorised and mechanised fishing are nonrenewable and limited. Most of the environmental problems that confront mankind today are connected to the use of energy in one way or another. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO, 1995) highlights the need for efficient use of energy in the fisheries sector. Information on energy requirement in different fish harvesting systems, based on the principles of energy analysis, is entirely lacking in respect of Indian fisheries. Such an analysis will provide an unbiased decision making support for maximising the yield per unit of non-renewable energy use, from different fishery resource systems, by rational deployment of harvesting systems. In the present study, results of investigations conducted during 1997-2000 on energy requirement in selected fish harvesting systems and approaches to energy conservation in fishing, are presented along with a detailed description of the fish harvesting systems and their operation. The content of the thesis is organised into 8 Chapters.