How lignocellulosic biomass support sustainability
One of the most abundant resources in this world is biomass. Biomass consists of three primary materials such as cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Therefore, biomass can consider as a lignocellulosic material. Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) has dormant supremacy in defeating the present/future energy dilemma. This is due to the steady exhaustion of non-renewable fossil fuels. Lignocellulose also helps generate a wide range of bio-based chemicals and biofuels as sustainable feedstock. In addition to being polymers of sugars, cellulose and hemicellulose are using for sugar fermentation or converting sugars into products. Lignin is a polymer compound which contains phenolic compounds. Rice husk/stubble is one of the biomass with a high order of lignin. It has unique characteristics because of its silica content.
Khaitan bio energy uses high efficient techniques for lignin and silica extraction. It is done during the lignin isolation process following enzymatic saccharification. The technology has been so as to establish an end to end process for a self sustained integrated biorefinery. Most importantly it focusses a “Zero discharge facility”.
Khaitan bioenergy estimates to produce that tons of bioethanol yearly from lignocellulosic biomass obtained from stubble residues alone.
Lignin and silica as by product
Among various biomass sources, the stubble primarily consists of cellulose (35–45%), hemicellulose (20–25%). Whereas the presence of lignin is 15–20% along with a high amount of silica and ash (10–15 %). Looking forward the production purposes of the paddy field are increasing. This results in 1.1–1.3 times straw as agro-residue in the last years. Eventhough available at a large scale and a low-cost source, stubble is still underutilised due to the high presence of silica, making it chemically and biochemically resistant (indigestible b). This leads to piling up in landfills and burning the field, causing substantial air and soil pollution.
In order o highlight the value of rice straw, converting it into high-value chemicals and fuels is an encouraging approach. However, the pretreatment of stubble is the bottleneck of the process to derange the unmanageable nature for bringing out sugar ompounds or other target chemicals. The method of acid hydrolysis is implemented in the pre treatment. Through this process, lignin and silica are simultaneously undergoes extraction to enhance holocellulose content and accessibility in the final product and produce selectively target chemicals.
The intricate nature of the composition of stubble is due to the rigid cell wall and the proximity of lignin and hemicellulose. Thus, holocellulose expects to disintegrate by chemical or biological pretreatments.This fantastic product of evolutionary developments has long shown potential as a highly sustainable and renewable source of fuels and materials.
The main use of Lignin for the manufacturing of biofuel or other useful compounds by two ways. Firstly by uncoupling lignin polymer from other cell wall polymers and secondly by exploiting the properties of lignin polymer for biofuel or for the production of other commercially useful products. Whereas Silica is widely used as a proppant. It holds open the fractures created by hydraulic fracturing allowing oil and gas to flow out of the formation.
Lignocellulose – A vital source to produce high-value marketable, and sustainable products.
Recently there has been a rise in research interest in the value or revaluation of lignocellulose-based materials due to increasing scientific knowledge, global economic and environmental awareness, legislative demands, and the manufacture, use, and removal of petrochemical-based by-products. The application of green technologies to extract and transform biomass-based carbohydrates, lignin, oils and other materials into a broader spectrum of marketable and value-added products with a zero-waste approach is a remarkable review.
Recognizing sources of biofuels such as biodiesel and biochar can reduce the environmental impacts of fossil fuels. Biofuels can also counter the raising demand of fossil resources and reduce reliance on non-renewable sources. However, it is essential to implement practical, scientific and robust tools to evaluate the exact advantages of using biofuels over conventional energy sources. Life cycle assessment has been identified as a comprehensive evaluation approach. This is to measure environmental impacts over the entire manufacturing chain of biofuels.
Bio-based economies have been the subject of significant research efforts. The main focus is to transform petroleum-based economies into socially acceptable, environmentally friendly, and comprehensively sustainable ones.
There is currently an intensive research effort in bio-refineries to develop sustainable and eco-efficient products to compete in the petroleum-based product market. Currently the energy reserves is becoming more and more difficult to access. Inorder to diversify the energy mix, Khaitan Bio energy operate in today’s most demanding environment enabling the transition to a more sustainable energy