NWNR401768 Biorefinery II

Type
Lecture
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Gindl-Altmutter, Wolfgang , Fackler, Karin , Potthast, Antje , Rosenau, Thomas , Gübitz, Georg , Bismarck, Alexander , Pfeifer, Christoph
Organisation
Wood Technology and Renewable Materials
Offered in
Sommersemester 2026
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the chemical/physical/energy characteristics of lignocellulosic biomass, as well as of the key techno-economic barriers affecting commercial implementation of lignocellulosic biorefineries. An important focus is the chemistry and engineering aspects of different (pre)treatment and fractionation processes, including those presently used for pulp production such as kraft and sulfite, as well as organosolv processes which are under development. Different biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes and their down-stream upgrading and separation operations into liquid fuels, chemicals and biomaterials are reviewed.

Week 1
Tuesday, March 9th, 2021
Introduction; Energy Consumption and Supply, CO2 Emissions and Global Warming, Chemical and Cost Comparison of Bio- and Fossil Fuels, Comparison of Oil Refinery and Lignocellulosic Biorefinery (2 hrs.)

Thursday, March 11th, 2021
Historical Lignocellulosic Biorefineries, Commercial or Developing Lignocellulosic Biorefineries (2 hrs.)

Week 2
Tuesday, March 16th, 2021
Chemical/Physical/Energy Characteristics of Lignocellulosic Biomass and its Effect on Biorefining Barriers and Efficiencies (2 hrs)


Thursday, March 18th, 2021
Why Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Material?, Sticky Lignin Precipitates during Pretreatment, Neutral (Water/Steam), Acid and Alkaline Pretreatment Methods, Present Status of Commercial Efforts (2 hr)

Week 3
Tuesday, March 23th, 2021
Preparation of Wood Chips before Alkaline/Kraft Pulping, Removal of Air by Presteaming, Primary and Secondary Liquor Penetration into Chips, Difference in Liquor Penetration of Heartwood and Sapwood Chips, Mathematical Modelling of Alkaline Liquor Impregnation (2 hr)

Thursday, March 25th, 2021
Sulfite Pulping and Pre-Hydrolysis Kraft as Biorefinery Processes, Organosolv Wood Fractionation with Ethanol, Ethanol/SO2 or Gammavalerolactone (GVL) (2 hr)

Week 4
Tuesday, March 30th, 2021
Gasification of Biomass and Upgrading to Fuels and Chemicals, Gasification of Spent Pulping Liquor (2 hr)

Thursday, April 1st, 2021
Production of Regular and Torrefied Lignocellulosic Pellets, Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass, Upgrading of Fast Pyrolysis Oil to Fuels and Chemicals, Biochar as a Product (2 hr)

Week 5
Tuesday, April 6th, 2021
Biomass Carbohydrate Products: Methanol, Ethanol, Acetic Acid, Lactic Acid, Butanol, Levulinic Acid, Furfural, Diesel Fuel, Nanocellulose (2 hr)

Thursday, April 8th, 2021
Lignin-based Products: Lignosulfonates, Kraft Lignin, Hydrolysis Lignin, Organosolv Lignin, Carbon Fibers
Previous knowledge expected

Participants have completed their Master thesis and are currently enrolled in a PhD program at BOKU University with a focus on conversion, characterization and utilization of renewable materials. The lecture is held in English
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

After completion of Biorefineries II, the students can list all relevant steps from the different raw material sources and their composition to their mechanical, chemical and enzymatic conversion in different streams.
They dispose of in-depth knowledge of the most relevant characterisation techniques relefvant to bioresource utilisation.
They dispose of an overview of different utilisation options of biomass in the biorefinery framework.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.