B028794 - BIOMASS ENERGY CONVERSION

English/Italian

Biomass types and properties
biomass pretreatment
thermochemical conversion processes
anaerobic digestion
biofuels

1. Course slides
2. text: “Thermochemical Processing of Biomass: Conversion into Fuels, Chemicals and Power, Second Edition”, Ed. R. C. Brown DOI:10.1002/9781119417637

(Access from the university network -> https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119417637)

CA1: Ability of analysis and modeling of mechanical/electrical/propulsive components and systems: basic problems and models for industrial engineering, with special reference to mechanical and energy engineering.

CA3: Ability of designing, analyze, plan and manage energy conversion systems and their environmental impact, as well as complex and/or innovative service and process systems.

CA5: Identify, formulate and solve industrial engineering problems, with special focus to energy issues.

CA7: Analyze, design and manage innovative integrated renewable energy systems, sustainability, environmental and economic impact

CA8: Ability of analyzing plants, components and process technologies and methods of engineering and their economic implications

CA9: Ability of combining theory and practice to solve multidisciplinary engineering problems

CA10: Communication skills to transfer information, ideas and solutions to specialists and others, in Italian and English

CC1: In-depth knowledge in the field of energy and electricity

CC8: Renewable energy resources, low environmental impact technologies: characteristics and availability, proven and innovative exploitation technologies, energy sustainability, economic and environmental sustainability.

CC10: Multidisciplinary context of energy engineering and problem solving orientation, which starts from the problem to go back to the causes and possible solutions, typically multidisciplinary.

CT3: Development of an adequate expression and technical discussion of own arguments

CT4: Graphic representation and communication (drafting of diagrams, graphs and tables)

maths, physics, heat transfer, energy systems

Class Lessons, seminars and exercises

Visit the official website, access is restricted, ask information to the
teacher: MOODLE https://e-l.unifi.it/

Oral examination.

Students shall demonstrate to have acquired competences and knowledge in the field of energy engineering (CC1), to have understood what are the reneable energy resources and the low-impact technologies (CC8), and to be able to position those resorces and technologies in the broader, multidisciplianry context of energy engineering (CC10)


Oral examination (CA10) will include open questions (CA9) of applications of technologies and processes discussed during the class in the domain of energy enegineering (CA5-7-8); to answer those questions, students shall elaborate (CT3), and support their discussion with block/process flow diagrams (CT4). Finally, student s shall demosntrate to be able to analyze a problem (CA1) and desing a solution (CA3) starting from a set of given boundary conditions.

PART 1 THE FEEDSTOCK
1.1 Types of biomasses. Main constituents of biomass.
1.2 Biomass from forestry and from agriculture
1.3 Energy crops
1.4 Agroindustrial and agro-residues
1.5 Microalgae and macroalgae
1.6 Chemical and physical characteristics of solid biomass. Analytical techniques for the characterisation of solid biomasses.


PART 2 PRETREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES
2.1 Drying: technologies, energy consumption
2.2 Chipping
2.3 Compaction: pellets and briquettes

PART 3 ENERGY CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES

3.1 Biomass combustion: domestic and industrial plants
3.2 Biomass torrefaction
3.3 Pyrolysis of biomass: slow, intermediate and flash pyrolysis. Pyrolysis products
3.4 Biomass gasification. Processes, technologies, plants.
3.5 Anaerobic digestion and biogas production. Feedstocks, biogas characteristics and upgrading, biomethane
3.6 Use of biogas for power and CHP
3.7 Use of pyrolysis oil for power and CHP
3.8 Use of producer gas for power and CHP




PART 4 BIOFUELS AND GREEN CHEMICALS
4.1 Calls about organic chemistry and transport fuels
4.2 Liquid biofuels for transport. First and second generation biofuels, advanced generation biofuels
4.3 First generation biofuels - Straight vegetable oil: feedstocks, processes, technologies and plants
4.4 First generation biofuels - Biodiesel: feedstocks, processes, technologies and plants
4.5 First generation biofuels - Bioethanol: feedstocks, processes, technologies and plants
4.6 Second generation biofuels - BTL: : feedstocks, processes, technologies and plants
4.7 Second generation biofuels - Lignocellulosic ethanol: feedstocks, processes, technologies and plants
4.8 Microalgae. Cultivation of microalgae in Open Ponds (OP) and Photobioreactors (PBRs)
4.9 Use of liquid biofuels in engines and turbines
4.10 The Green Chemistry sector



PART 5 POLICY, SUSTAINABILITY AND ECONOMICS OF BIOENERGY
5.1 Fundamentals of EU and National Policies
5.2 Fundamentals of Sustainability and Life Cycle Analysis
5.3 Fundamentals of economics

This class contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable development Goals 2030