Algal Biomass as a Binding Agent for the Densification of Miscanthus

• DOI: 10.1007/s12649-014-9326-3
• Publication Date: 2014-10-10T14:51:56Z
• Authors: Sunil Thapa; Daniel B. Johnson; Peter P. Liu; Thomas Canam
• Keywords: 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering; 02 engineering and technology; 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Purpose Lignocellulosic biomass has been regarded as an important future energy source due to its excessive availability; however, the wide application of this material for many applications is restricted by the high costs associated with densification, transportation, thermo-chemical pretreatment and conversion. In order to increase the density of lignocellulosic biomass, it is typically compressed into pellets or briquettes. This frequently requires the addition of additives, which may negatively impact the economics of the process. Environmentally-friendly binding agents that can be obtained inexpensively are therefore desirable. This study examines the change in physicochemical properties of densified Miscanthus straw where algae were used as a binding agent.