BAE 590G

Biomass-to-Renewable Energy Processes

Fall 2008

 

Instructor:      Dr. Jay J. Cheng          Office: Room 275 Weaver Labs

                                                            Phone: 515-6733;   Fax:  515-7760

                                                            E-mail:   jay_cheng@ncsu.edu

Credit:            3 hours

Prerequisites: Introductory organic chemistry or biochemistry and microbiology, graduate standing in BAE, ChE, CE, MAE, Crop Science, Food Science, Textile, or Wood and Paper Science, or approval of the instructor.

Course Description:

This course will introduce fundamental principles and practical applications of biomass-to-renewable energy processes, including anaerobic digestion of agricultural and industrial wastes for biogas and hydrogen production, bioethanol production from starch and lignocellulosic materials, biodiesel production from plant oils, and thermoconversion of biomass and waste materials for renewable energy production. Two field trips to visit biogas production and fermentation facilities will be arranged during the course.  The topics that will be covered in this course include:

ü  Biomass chemistry

Starch, Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Lignin, Pectin, Vegetable oil, etc.

ü  Biomass resources 

Herbaceous biomass, Agricultural residues, Woody biomass, Waste materials

ü  Anaerobic digestion for biogas and hydrogen production

Anaerobic microorganisms, Anaerobic process for biogas production, Anaerobic process for hydrogen production, Gas purification processes.

ü  Bioethanol production process

Saccharification and hydrolysis for fermentable sugar production, Fermentation process, Ethanol purification, By-products

ü  Biodiesel production

Materials, Chemical reactions, Biodiesel production process

ü  Thermochemical conversion processes

Combustion, Gasification, Pyrolysis

Reference Books:     

ü  El-Mansi E.M.T and Bryce C.F.A. (1999) Fermentation Microbiology and Biotechnology. Taylor & Francis Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

ü  Briggs D.E., Boulton C.A., Brookes P.A. and Stevens R. Brewing Science and Practice. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.

ü  Clarke A.J. (1997) Biodegradation of Cellulose: Enzymology and Biotechnology. Technomic Publishing Company, Inc., Lancaster, PA.

ü  Speece, R. (1996) Anaerobic Biotechnology for Industrial Wastewaters. Archae Press, Nashville, TN.

ü  Hiler E.A. and Stout B.A. (1985) Biomass Energy. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX.

ü  Brown, R.C. (2003) Biorenewable Resources, Iowa State Press, Ames, Iowa.

ü  Bridgewater, A.V., Boocock, D.G.B. (1997) Developments in Thermochemical Biomass Conversion, Blackie Academic and Professional, London.

 

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