Course

Unit 1

Introduction and Perspective of Bioenergy and Biofuels

Overview of biofuel, bioenergy and biorefinery concepts, current energy consumption, Fundamental concepts in understanding biofuel/bioenergy production, Fossil versus renewable energy resources, economic impact of biofuels, Comparison of Bio-energy Sources, Biorefinery, Biofuel production and applications.

Unit 2

Processes for biomass conversion

Introduction to thermochemical, biochemical, and mechanical processes, Types of reactors, chemical equilibrium and reaction kinetics, Thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis, gasification, reforming, combustion), Biochemical conversion (various metabolic process, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand, anaerobic digestion, fermentation); Oil extraction and esterification; Pretreatment of biomass (pelleting; chipping; biodrying, etc.); Management of solids / liquids / gaseous biomass process waste.

Unit 3

Bioenergy from biomass as source of alternative energy

Biomass and its properties and types: proximate and ultimate analysis, calorific value, density, moisture content, Type 1: ligno-cellulosic, starchy, sugar, oilseeds; Type 2: municipal residual waste, organic waste, sewage sludge, manure; Type 3: biofuels from biomass conversion processes (solid: biochar; liquids: bioethanol and biodiesel; gaseous: biogas and syngas).Wet milling of grain for alcohol production, grain dry milling cooking for alcohol production, use of cellulosic feed stocks for alcohol production chemistry of biodiesel production; Biodiesel production by using various microorganisms, algae and Transesterification process: Chemistry of biodiesel production, oil Sources and production by plants and other sources, methods of biodiesel production.

Unit 4

Biofuel feedstocks and the production of biofuel

Various types of feedstocks, starch feedstocks, sugar feedstocks, lignocellulosic feedstocks, plant oils and animal fats, miscellaneous feedstocks; Ethanol production from sugar, starch feedstock and lignocellulosic feedstocks; Different enzymes, enzyme hydrolysis, and their applications in ethanol production; fermentation process and types of fermenters, bioreactor operation and design. Microbial fuel cells, Microbiology of methane production, biomass sources for methane production, biogas composition and use, biochemical basis of fuel cell design.

Unit 5

Sustainable Bioenergy and Advanced Biofuels

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of bioenergy and biofuel systems, carbon footprint analysis, energy return on investment (EROI), greenhouse gas emission reduction potential, land use change and water footprint considerations. Techno-economic analysis of biofuel production pathways, policy frameworks, blending mandates, incentives and global bioenergy outlook. Integration of bioenergy systems with circular economy concepts, waste-to-energy approaches, carbon capture and utilization in bioenergy plants. Advanced and emerging technologies such as second- and third-generation biofuels, algal biorefineries, synthetic biofuels, biohydrogen production, electro-biofuels, hybrid bioenergy systems and future prospects of bioenergy in sustainable energy transitions.

Text Books / References

References:

1. Erick J. Vandamme, Wim Soetaert, Biofuels, Wiley, 2011
2. Caye M. Drapcho,Terry H. Walker, Biofuels Engineering Process Technology M.G.Hills.2nd Edn 2020
3. Butterworth-Heinemann, Biotol series, VCH Ellis Horwood,Product Recovery in Bioprocess Technology, Elsevier,1992
4. Vaughn C. Nelson, Kenneth L. Starcher, Introduction to Bioenergy,CRC Press, 2016
5. G. N. Tiwari and M. K. Ghosal,, Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Sources, Narosa Publishing House, , 2007

• CO1: Identify and describe the properties of properties and different types of bioenergy and biofuels
• CO2: Design processes of biomass conversion which is useful especially for biofuel production
• CO3: Explain the concepts of bioenergy from biomass as source of alternative energy
• CO4: Apply basic knowledge to select appropriate biofuel feedstocks for microbial fuel cells and production of biofuel of interest