Butterworth-Heinemann Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Biomass Torrefaction: For Biofuels and Value-Added Products

Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Biomass Torrefaction: For Biofuels and Value-Added Products presents a firm foundation of torrefaction technologies and their economic and sustainability aspects. It offers a theoretical background in the underlying principles of torrefaction reactions, including thermodynamics, chemical reactions, process modeling, end-products, and value-added products such as biochar and torr-gas. It also provides an overview of best practices in torrefaction systems, reactor design and scale-up, and compares torrefaction with other thermochemical processing technologies. The authors discuss feedstock availability for a variety of biomass types, such as agricultural residues, woody residues, energy crops and municipal solid waste. They also examine logistics and markets for torrefied products, which includes their use in co-firing and combined heat and power generation, as well as emissions and other environmental aspects. This balanced and thorough approach to the subject matter makes this an excellent resource for engineers, researchers, and graduate students in the field of biomass conversion, especially with background in energy engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, biological engineering, and agriculture. Review A comprehensive overview of the theory behind biomass torrefaction and its use in generating biofuels and other value-added products About the Author Dr. Stephen Gent is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at South Dakota State University. He has been engaged in a variety of cutting-edge theoretical and applied research projects pertaining to renewable energy, sustainability, and agricultural processing. These projects include: 1) development of torrefaction technologies for converting agricultural residues to value-added biochar for soil amendment and biofuel applications; 2) development of fast pyrolysis strategies for producing bio-oil from non-food oilseed meals, 3) studying and computationally predicting the moisture release of corn in continuous flow drying for improved drying efficiency and throughput; 4) developing analytical tools and processes for improving the design of systems that grow algae for biofuels; 5) developing computational fluid dynamics modelling techniques for agricultural and biomedical applications, among others. The intention of his research has been how to effectively design engineered products and processes to be more efficient, reliable, and economical. Dr. Gent has an established publishing and funding record in which he has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and has been a PI or Co-PI on a variety of projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Transportation, and private industry. Dr. Gent has also served as the technical program chair for the Alternative Fuels and Infrastructure track for the last two years at the ASME Energy Sustainability Conference. As a professor, Dr. Gent has taught a variety of courses in thermal-fluids science and energy systems, including thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and computational fluid mechanics, among others. He has embraced pedagogical strategies to actively engage students in the learning experience, while embracing traditional teaching styles that use well-written textbooks. Michael P. Twedt is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of South Dakota and has been performing energy assessments, system and equipment economic feasibility studies and analyzing energy and bio-energy systems since 1992. In this time he has conducted over 300 energy assessments on public and private facilities in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He is currently the Director for the SDSU Energy Analysis Lab and the Wind Application Center where he is involved with several research projects dealing with energy conversion, wind energy development, bio-energy conversion,