The suitability of water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) as a viable feedstock for renewable energy production was investigated in this project. Water hyacinth used in this study was harvested from the Vaal River near Parys in the northwest region of the Free State province, South Africa (26°54′S 27°27′E). The wet plants were processed in the laboratory at the North-West University by separating the roots from the leaves and the stems, thus obtaining two separate water hyacinth feedstock. Characterisation of the feedstock showed that the stems and leaves are more suitable for bio-energy production than roots, due to the higher cellulose and hemicellulose content and very low lignin content of the stems and leaves. Water hyacinth was evaluated as feedstock for the production of bio-ethanol gel, bio-ethanol, bio-oil and bio-char. The recovery of water from the wet plants for use in bio-refining or for use as drip-irrigation in agriculture was also investigated. Cellulose was extracted from water hyacinth feedstock to be used as a gelling agent for the production of ethanol-gel fuel. A yield of 200 g cellulose/kg dry feedstock was obtained. The extracted cellulose was used to produce ethanol-gel with varying water content. The gel with properties closest to the SANS 448 standard contained 90 vol% ethanol and 10 vol% water, with 38 wt% cellulose. This gel was found to ignite readily and burn steadily, without flaring, sudden deflagrations, sparking, splitting, popping, dripping or exploding from ignition until it had burned to extinction, as required by SANS 448. The only specifications that could not be met were the viscosity (23,548 cP) and the high waste residue (32 wt%) left after burning. The other major concern is the extremely high costs involved with the manufacturing of ethanol-gel from water hyacinth cellulose. It can be concluded that ethanol-gel cannot be economically produced using water hyacinth as feedstock. Chemical and enzymatic extraction of water from the feedstock, which is stems and leaves or roots, showed that the highest yield of water was obtained using a combination of Celluclast 1.5 L, Pectinex Ultra SP-L and additional de-ionised water. A yield of 0.89 ± 0.01 gwater/gwater in biomass was realised. This is, however, only 0.86 wt% higher than the highest yield obtained (0.87 ± 0.01 gwater/gwater in biomass) using only Pectinex Ultra SP-L and de-ionised water. It is recommended to use only Pectinex Ultra SP-L and de-ionised water at a pH of 3.5 and a temperature of 40°C. Using one enzyme instead of two reduces operating costs and simplifies the chemical extraction process. The extracted water, both filtered and unfiltered, was not found to be suitable for domestic use without further purification to reduce the total dissolved solids (TDS), potassium and manganese levels. Both the unfiltered and filtered water were, however, found to be suitable for industrial and agricultural purposes, except for the high TDS levels. If the TDS and suspended particle level can be reduced, the extracted water would be suitable for domestic, industrial and agricultural use. The potential fermentation of the sugars derived from the water hyacinth, using ultrasonic pretreatment, was investigated. Indirect ultrasonic treatment (ultrasonic bath) proved to be a better pretreatment method than direct sonication (ultrasonic probe). The optimum sugar yield for the ultrasonic bath pretreatment with 5% NaOH was found to be 0.15 g sugar/g biomass (0.47 g sugar/g available sugar) using an indirect sonication energy input of 27 kJ/g biomass. The optimum sugar yield is lower than those reported in other studies using different pretreatment methods. Theoretically a maximum of 0.24 g ethanol can be obtained per g available sugar. This relates to an ethanol yield of 0.08 g ethanol/kg wet biomass. The low yield implies that ethanol production from water hyacinth is not economically feasible. The production of bio-oil and bio-char from water hyacinth through thermochemical liquefaction of wet hyacinth feedstock was investigated. An optimum bio-char yield of 0.55 g bio-char/g biomass was achieved using an inert atmosphere (nitrogen) at 260°C and the stems and leaves as feedstock. With the roots as feedstock a slightly lower optimum yield of 0.45 g bio-char/g biomass was found using a non-reducing atmosphere (carbon monoxide) at 280°C. The bio-oil yield was too low to accurately quantify. As water is required during thermochemical liquefaction, it was found unnecessary to dry the biomass to the same extent as was the case with the pretreatment and fermentation of the water hyacinth, making this a more feasible route for biofuel production. Bio-char produced through liquefaction of roots as the feedstock and leaves and stems as the other feedstock had a higher heating value (HHV) of 10.89 ± 0.45 MJ/kg and 23.31 ± 0.45 MJ/kg respectively. Liquefaction of water hyacinth biomass increased the HHV of the feedstock to a value comparable to that of low grade coal. This implies a possible use of water hyacinth for co-gasification. The most effective route for bio-energy production in the case of water hyacinth was found to be thermochemical liquefaction (12.8 MJ/kg wet biomass). Due to the high production costs involved, it is recommended to only use water hyacinth as a feedstock for biofuel production if no alternative feedstock are available. / MIng (Chemical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The suitability of water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) as a viable feedstock for renewable energy production was investigated in this project. Water hyacinth used in this study was harvested from the Vaal River near Parys in the northwest region of the Free State province, South Africa (26°54′S 27°27′E). The wet plants were processed in the laboratory at the North-West University by separating the roots from the leaves and the stems, thus obtaining two separate water hyacinth feedstock. Characterisation of the feedstock showed that the stems and leaves are more suitable for bio-energy production than roots, due to the higher cellulose and hemicellulose content and very low lignin content of the stems and leaves. Water hyacinth was evaluated as feedstock for the production of bio-ethanol gel, bio-ethanol, bio-oil and bio-char. The recovery of water from the wet plants for use in bio-refining or for use as drip-irrigation in agriculture was also investigated. Cellulose was extracted from water hyacinth feedstock to be used as a gelling agent for the production of ethanol-gel fuel. A yield of 200 g cellulose/kg dry feedstock was obtained. The extracted cellulose was used to produce ethanol-gel with varying water content. The gel with properties closest to the SANS 448 standard contained 90 vol% ethanol and 10 vol% water, with 38 wt% cellulose. This gel was found to ignite readily and burn steadily, without flaring, sudden deflagrations, sparking, splitting, popping, dripping or exploding from ignition until it had burned to extinction, as required by SANS 448. The only specifications that could not be met were the viscosity (23,548 cP) and the high waste residue (32 wt%) left after burning. The other major concern is the extremely high costs involved with the manufacturing of ethanol-gel from water hyacinth cellulose. It can be concluded that ethanol-gel cannot be economically produced using water hyacinth as feedstock. Chemical and enzymatic extraction of water from the feedstock, which is stems and leaves or roots, showed that the highest yield of water was obtained using a combination of Celluclast 1.5 L, Pectinex Ultra SP-L and additional de-ionised water. A yield of 0.89 ± 0.01 gwater/gwater in biomass was realised. This is, however, only 0.86 wt% higher than the highest yield obtained (0.87 ± 0.01 gwater/gwater in biomass) using only Pectinex Ultra SP-L and de-ionised water. It is recommended to use only Pectinex Ultra SP-L and de-ionised water at a pH of 3.5 and a temperature of 40°C. Using one enzyme instead of two reduces operating costs and simplifies the chemical extraction process. The extracted water, both filtered and unfiltered, was not found to be suitable for domestic use without further purification to reduce the total dissolved solids (TDS), potassium and manganese levels. Both the unfiltered and filtered water were, however, found to be suitable for industrial and agricultural purposes, except for the high TDS levels. If the TDS and suspended particle level can be reduced, the extracted water would be suitable for domestic, industrial and agricultural use. The potential fermentation of the sugars derived from the water hyacinth, using ultrasonic pretreatment, was investigated. Indirect ultrasonic treatment (ultrasonic bath) proved to be a better pretreatment method than direct sonication (ultrasonic probe). The optimum sugar yield for the ultrasonic bath pretreatment with 5% NaOH was found to be 0.15 g sugar/g biomass (0.47 g sugar/g available sugar) using an indirect sonication energy input of 27 kJ/g biomass. The optimum sugar yield is lower than those reported in other studies using different pretreatment methods. Theoretically a maximum of 0.24 g ethanol can be obtained per g available sugar. This relates to an ethanol yield of 0.08 g ethanol/kg wet biomass. The low yield implies that ethanol production from water hyacinth is not economically feasible. The production of bio-oil and bio-char from water hyacinth through thermochemical liquefaction of wet hyacinth feedstock was investigated. An optimum bio-char yield of 0.55 g bio-char/g biomass was achieved using an inert atmosphere (nitrogen) at 260°C and the stems and leaves as feedstock. With the roots as feedstock a slightly lower optimum yield of 0.45 g bio-char/g biomass was found using a non-reducing atmosphere (carbon monoxide) at 280°C. The bio-oil yield was too low to accurately quantify. As water is required during thermochemical liquefaction, it was found unnecessary to dry the biomass to the same extent as was the case with the pretreatment and fermentation of the water hyacinth, making this a more feasible route for biofuel production. Bio-char produced through liquefaction of roots as the feedstock and leaves and stems as the other feedstock had a higher heating value (HHV) of 10.89 ± 0.45 MJ/kg and 23.31 ± 0.45 MJ/kg respectively. Liquefaction of water hyacinth biomass increased the HHV of the feedstock to a value comparable to that of low grade coal. This implies a possible use of water hyacinth for co-gasification. The most effective route for bio-energy production in the case of water hyacinth was found to be thermochemical liquefaction (12.8 MJ/kg wet biomass). Due to the high production costs involved, it is recommended to only use water hyacinth as a feedstock for biofuel production if no alternative feedstock are available. / MIng (Chemical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Submitted by Maria Medeiros (maria.dilva1@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-07-19T11:37:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 VITAL DE SOUSA QUEIROZ - TESE (PPGEP) 2013.pdf: 2991038 bytes, checksum: 89890a58847930a71c73378d3a43b91e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-19T11:37:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VITAL DE SOUSA QUEIROZ - TESE (PPGEP) 2013.pdf: 2991038 bytes, checksum: 89890a58847930a71c73378d3a43b91e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-12 / Com o advento da globalização tecnológica, o ideal para as empresas industriais é processar matéria(s)-prima(s) com o seu aproveitamento integral para agregar mais lucratividade a cadeia produtiva e ser mais competitividade no mercado. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo, desenvolver o processo de aproveitamento dos resíduos (cabeça e cauda) oriundos da fabricação de cachaça de alambique para obtenção de etanol líquido neutro por processo de destilação convencional e por um inovador processo de destilação assistido por micro-ondas, para obtenção de álcool gel a 70°INPM. Neste trabalho, foi estudada a cinética dos processos destilatórios das misturas dos resíduos, com concentração de 40°GL, 42,5°GL, 45°GL, 47,5°GL e 50°GL nos dois sistemas de destilação, variando a temperatura de aquecimento em 90°C, 92°C, 94°C, 96°C, 99°C e 100°C onde foram definidos parâmetros como temperatura ideal de aquecimento dos sistemas, taxa de aquecimento, graduação alcoólica do etanol líquido destilado e rendimento do processo, assim como, o ajuste da formulação tradicional de obtenção de etanol gel usando etanol extraído dos resíduos. No processo destilatório, usando radiação micro-onda como agente de aquecimento, foi utilizado um microdestilador a micro-ondas desenvolvido para esse fim, mantendo-se os mesmos parâmetros da metodologia definida para a destilação convencional. Os resíduos, o álcool líquido extraído e o etanol gel antisséptico produzido foram caracterizados por métodos físicos e físico-químicos como densimetria, ebuliometria, cromatografia gasosa e viscosimetria. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, o etanol extraído dos resíduos atende as especificações técnicas estabelecidas pela ANVISA (Agencia Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) para produção de etanol gel antisséptico a 70°INPM e a faixa de temperatura ideal de trabalho em ambos destiladores é de 99°C - 100°C. O etanol gel antisséptico, obtido dos resíduos, apresentou características físicas e físico-químicas semelhante ao etanol gel tradicional e quanto ao seu custo/benefício, mostrou expressiva vantagem econômica do ponto de vista de custo com consumo de material e de preço do produto no mercado em comparação ao álcool gel tradicional. / With the advent of technological globalization, ideal for industrial companies is to process assessment (s) material (s) with your full time to educating the supply chain profitability and be more competitive in the market recovery. This study aimed to develop the process for recovery of waste (head and tail) deriving from the manufacture of cachaça to obtain neutral liquid ethanol by conventional distillation process and an innovative distillation process assisted by microwave, to obtain alcohol gel at 70 ° INPM. In this work , we studied the kinetics of processes destilatórios mixtures of wastes with concentration of 40°GL, 42.5°GL, 45GL°, 47.5° and 50°GL in both distillation systems, varying the temperature heating at 90°C, 92°C, 94°C, 96°C, 99°C and 100°C which defined parameters, such as temperature optimum heating systems, heating rate, ethanol alcoholic distillate yield and process, as well as adjusting the traditional formulation of obtaining ethanol from ethanol gel using waste. In the process distillatory using radiation microwaves as the heating agent, was used a microwave microdestilador developed for this purpose, keeping the same parameters as defined methodology to conventional distillation. Waste, liquid alcohol antiseptic gel extracted and ethanol produced were characterized by physical and physico-chemical as densitometry, ebuliometria, gas chromatography and viscometry. The results showed that the ethanol extract of the waste meets the technical specifications established by ANVISA ( National Health Surveillance Agency ) for ethanol antiseptic gel to 70°INPM ideal temperature range and work in both stills is 99°C - 100°C. Ethanol antiseptic gel , obtained from waste, presented physical and physical-chemical properties similar to ethanol gel and traditional terms of their cost / benefit ratio, showed significant economic advantage from the standpoint of cost material consumption and price of the product on the market compared to the traditional alcohol gel.

Paraffin is used as a main household energy source for cooking, lighting and heating by low-income communities in South Africa. It is highly inflammable and spillages from paraffin can be considered as one of the major causes of fires that lead to the destruction of dwellings in the informal settlement. The situation is made worse due to the close proximity of the dwellings to each other which cause the fires to spread very quickly from one dwelling to the next leaving suffering and most often death in its wake (Schwebel et al., 2009:700). It has been shown by Muller et al. (2003:2018) that most of the informal rural communities use paraffin in non-ventilated and windowless environments and this causes major respiratory problems. The government has made a huge effort towards replacing paraffin as main cooking fuel in rural and informal settlements with ethanol gel. Ethanol gel is a healthier, safer alternative to paraffin because ethanol gel does not burn unless it is contained within a cooking device that concentrates the flame. It also fails to emit lung irritants or other dangerous chemical vapours when burned indoors (Bizzo et al., 2004:67). Commercial ethanol gels are manufactured with imported gelling agents that make their costs unaffordable to the rural poor communities. It is the objective of this study to determine whether gelling agents extracted from the local endemic species of cactacea viz. Opuntia fiscus-indica and Cereus Jamacaru can be used to synthesise ethanol gel comparable or better than the commercial gels. The two species chosen have been declared pests (Nel et al., 2004:61) and are continuously uprooted from arable land and burned by local farmers (Van Wilgen et al., 2001:162) This study showed that Opuntia ficas-indica stems gave a better cellulose yield (15.0 ± 6.7 wt. %) than Cereus Jamacaru (11.5 ± 7.8wt %). Chemical composition analyses and FT-IR analyses showed that the hemicelluloses and lignin were completely removed from the extracted cellulose and the extraction was more effective for Opuntia ficasindica than for Cereus Jamacaru. Ethanol gel produced by using the extracted cellulose, as was investigated during this study, was compared to commercial gels with respect to viscosity, burn time, calorific values and residue and a good comparison was obtained. / Thesis (M.Sc. Engineering Sciences (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Paraffin is used as a main household energy source for cooking, lighting and heating by low-income communities in South Africa. It is highly inflammable and spillages from paraffin can be considered as one of the major causes of fires that lead to the destruction of dwellings in the informal settlement. The situation is made worse due to the close proximity of the dwellings to each other which cause the fires to spread very quickly from one dwelling to the next leaving suffering and most often death in its wake (Schwebel et al., 2009:700). It has been shown by Muller et al. (2003:2018) that most of the informal rural communities use paraffin in non-ventilated and windowless environments and this causes major respiratory problems. The government has made a huge effort towards replacing paraffin as main cooking fuel in rural and informal settlements with ethanol gel. Ethanol gel is a healthier, safer alternative to paraffin because ethanol gel does not burn unless it is contained within a cooking device that concentrates the flame. It also fails to emit lung irritants or other dangerous chemical vapours when burned indoors (Bizzo et al., 2004:67). Commercial ethanol gels are manufactured with imported gelling agents that make their costs unaffordable to the rural poor communities. It is the objective of this study to determine whether gelling agents extracted from the local endemic species of cactacea viz. Opuntia fiscus-indica and Cereus Jamacaru can be used to synthesise ethanol gel comparable or better than the commercial gels. The two species chosen have been declared pests (Nel et al., 2004:61) and are continuously uprooted from arable land and burned by local farmers (Van Wilgen et al., 2001:162) This study showed that Opuntia ficas-indica stems gave a better cellulose yield (15.0 ± 6.7 wt. %) than Cereus Jamacaru (11.5 ± 7.8wt %). Chemical composition analyses and FT-IR analyses showed that the hemicelluloses and lignin were completely removed from the extracted cellulose and the extraction was more effective for Opuntia ficasindica than for Cereus Jamacaru. Ethanol gel produced by using the extracted cellulose, as was investigated during this study, was compared to commercial gels with respect to viscosity, burn time, calorific values and residue and a good comparison was obtained. / Thesis (M.Sc. Engineering Sciences (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.