Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to their potential for efficient and sustainable energy storage. Thus, the demand for high-performance battery materials with a sustainable supply chain, particularly hard carbon (HC) as the primary anode material for SIBs, is rapidly increasing. This study focuses on enhancing the production and electrochemical performance of HC products by leveraging Sweden's abundant forestry resources and advanced biomass refining processes. Specifically, we propose a novel HC production process that compresses sawdust-derived biocarbon with bio-oil derived from the same pyrolysis process to produce HC with improved properties, where the bio-oil serves as both a binder and a surface engineering agent for the biocarbon. This approach effectively modifies surface defects, leading to increased initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), reaching values of 90 % in half-cell tests. Moreover, laboratory measurements and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results quantified that this production method achieves nearly 50 % higher HC yields and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20 % compared to the conventional production method. As a result, this offers a potentially more sustainable and economically viable solution for advancing the SIB anode material production.

Biomass is a key renewable feedstock for producing green fuels; however, renewable feedstock presents a high risk for catalyst deactivation and poor stability. In addition, the heat source of industrial reforming processes comes from fuel combustion and most heat is lost in the flue gas. In this study, a Ni/Al2O3/FeCrAl-based monolithic catalyst with a periodic open cellular structure (POCS) was designed and 3D-printed. A reforming process was then conducted by directly heating the catalyst using electricity instead of fuel combustion. This e-reformer technology was demonstrated in continuous catalytic steam reforming of biomass pyrolysis volatiles. A high H2 yield of ≈7.1 wt % of biomass has been obtained at a steam-to-biomass (S/B) ratio of 4.5, reforming temperature of 800 °C and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 310 h−1, resulting in an energy consumption of 8 kWhel kg−1 biomass (66% energy efficiency). The results show a successful demonstration of the electrified technology with improvement potential; in addition, a process was designed and assessed economically for synthetic natural gas (SNG) production of 80 MWHHV, comparing electrification and partial oxidation in different scenarios.

Pyrolysis of biomass plus catalytic reforming of its pyrolysis volatiles is a green alternative to produce solid (biochar) and gaseous (syngas) fuels that have several valuable applications; however, this catalytic process suffers from fast deactivation, and its energy consumption is yet to be studied, factors that determine the process's feasibility in industrialisation. To address these issues, the direct electrification of a 3D-printed FeCrAl heater coated with 15.5 % Ni/Al2O3 was tested in a parametric study in the catalytic steam reforming of biomass pyrolysis volatiles, in order to investigate the effect of the S/B ratio and space–time on the syngas yield and composition. Complete bio-oil reforming was obtained at a biomass feed rate of ≤ 1 g min−1 and a S/B ratio of ≥ 2, and stability close to 100 % was estimated after over four hours of operation. Nonetheless, the produced syngas is rich in C1 – C3 gases and moderately low in H2 (≈ 2 wt %). The effect of the catalyst's structure on the bio-oil reforming and heat efficiency was complemented using CFD simulations and compared to a simple geometry based on commercial extruded monoliths. Finally, the biomass-derived syngas upgrading to H2 production was assessed using different process simulations and compared to existing H2-producing technologies in terms of energy efficiency and emissions.

This study aims to improve the quality and yield of bio-oil produced from ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass (sawdust) using a combination of stage catalysts with Al-MCM-41, HZSM-5, and ZrO2. The research employed various methods, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry, bench-scale experiments, and process simulations to analyze the kinetics, thermodynamics, products, and energy flows of the catalytic upgrading process. The introduction of ZrO2 enhances the yield of monoaromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) in heavy organics. Compared with the dual-catalyst case, the MAHs yield escalates by approximately 344% at a catalyst ratio of 1:3:0.25. Additionally, GC-MS data indicate that the incorporation of ZrO2 promotes the deoxygenation reaction of the guaiacol compound and the oligomerization reactions of PAHs. The integration of ZrO2 as the third catalyst enhances the yield of heavy organics significantly, achieving 16.85% at a catalyst ratio of 1:3:1, which increases by nearly 35.6% compared to the dual-catalyst case. Also, the addition of ZrO2 as the third catalyst enhanced the energy distribution in heavy organics. These findings suggest that the combination of these catalysts improves the fuel properties and yields of the bio-oil.

Uncertainties with respect to the chemical composition of scrap limit its suitability as an input to recycling. This study offers an alternative approach in dealing with this concern and explores the hypothetical case where this uncertainty is nonexistent. The effect of fully knowing the scrap composition is simulated using an optimization software adopted to scrap-based, stainless-steel production. Through the systematic implementation of this information-driven model in the studied cases, the results suggest that with access to perfect information, recycling incentives can be realized. Essentially, the steel scraps’ consumption increased since it was possible to select and combine scrap quantities with varying composition profiles to achieve the targeted product compositions. This also meant that elements already in the scrap were allocated in a manner that was less dependent on pure alloy additions. Being able to demonstrate the value of information on scrap composition could rationalize upgrades on current scrap management systems.

Producing sustainable anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) through catalytic graphitization of renewable biomass has gained significant attention. However, the technology is in its early stages due to the bio-graphite's comparatively low electrochemical performance in LIBs. This study aims to develop a process for producing LIB anode materials using a hybrid catalyst to enhance battery performance, along with readily available market biochar as the raw material. Results indicate that a trimetallic hybrid catalyst (Ni, Fe, and Mn in a 1:1:1 ratio) is superior to single or bimetallic catalysts in converting biochar to bio-graphite. The bio-graphite produced under this catalyst exhibits an 89.28% degree of graphitization and a 73.95% conversion rate. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveals the dissolution–precipitation mechanism involved in catalytic graphitization. Electrochemical performance evaluation showed that the trimetallic hybrid catalyst yielded bio-graphite with better electrochemical performances than those obtained through single or bimetallic hybrid catalysts, including a good reversible capacity of about 293 mAh g−1 at a current density of 20 mA/g and a stable cycle performance with a capacity retention of over 98% after 100 cycles. This study proves the synergistic efficacy of different metals in catalytic graphitization, impacting both graphite crystalline structure and electrochemical performance.

The global Sustainable Development Goals highlight the necessity for affordable and clean energy, designated as SDG7. A sustainable and feasible biorefinery concept is proposed for the carbon-negative utilization of biomass waste for affordable H2 and battery anode material production. Specifically, an innovative tandem biocarbon + NiAlO + biocarbon catalyst strategy is constructed to realize a complete reforming of biomass pyro-vapors into H2+CO (as a mixture). The solid residues from pyrolysis are upgraded into high-quality hard carbon (HCs), demonstrating potential as sodium ion battery (SIBs) anodes. The product, HC-1600-6h, exhibited great electrochemical performance when employed as (SIBs) anodes (full cell: 263 Wh/kg with ICE of 89%). Ultimately, a comprehensive process is designed, simulated, and evaluated. The process yields 75 kg H2, 169 kg HCs, and 891 kg captured CO2 per ton of biomass achieving approx. 100% carbon and hydrogen utilization efficiencies. A life cycle assessment estimates a biomass valorization process with negative-emissions (−0.81 kg CO2/kg-biomass, reliant on Sweden wind electricity). A techno-economic assessment forecasts a notably profitable process capable of co-producing affordable H2 and hard carbon battery anodes. The payback period of the process is projected to fall within two years, assuming reference prices of 13.7 €/kg for HCs and 5 €/kg for H2. The process contributes to a novel business paradigm for sustainable and commercially viable biorefinery process, achieving carbon-negative valorization of biomass waste into affordable energy and materials.

This study introduces a distributed electrified heating approach that is able to innovate chemical engineering involving endothermic reactions. It enables rapid and uniform heating of gaseous reactants, facilitating efficient conversion and high product selectivity at specific equilibrium. Demonstrated in catalyst-free CH4 pyrolysis, this approach achieves stable production of H2 (530 g h−1 L reactor−1) and carbon nanotube/fibers through 100% conversion of high-throughput CH4 at 1150 °C, surpassing the results obtained from many complex metal catalysts and high-temperature technologies. Additionally, in catalytic CH4 dry reforming, the distributed electrified heating using metallic monolith with unmodified Ni/MgO catalyst washcoat showcased excellent CH4 and CO2 conversion rates, and syngas production capacity. This innovative heating approach eliminates the need for elongated reactor tubes and external furnaces, promising an energy-concentrated and ultra-compact reactor design significantly smaller than traditional industrial systems, marking a significant advance towards more sustainable and efficient chemical engineering society.

In this paper, a previous experimental investigation on physical refining of steel melts by filtration was numerically studied. To be specific, the filtration of non-metallic alumina inclusions, in the size range of 1-100 & mu;m, was stimulated from steel melt using a square-celled monolithic alumina filter. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies, including simulations of both fluid flow and particle tracing using the one-way coupling method, were conducted. The CFD predicted results for particles in the size range of & LE;5 & mu;m were compared to the published experimental data. The modeled filtration setup could capture 100% of the particles larger than 50 & mu;m. The percentage of the filtered particles decreased from 98% to 0% in the particle size range from 50 & mu;m to 1 & mu;m.

Catalyst research on reforming processes for syngas production has mainly focused on the active metals and support materials, while the effect of the catalyst's geometry on the reforming reactions has been poorly studied. The application of 3D-printed materials with enhanced geometries has recently started to be studied in heterogeneous catalysis and is of interest to be implemented for reforming biomass and plastic waste to produce H2-rich syngas. In this study, a geometry-enhanced 3D-printed Ni/Al2O3/FeCrAl-based monolithic catalyst with a periodic open cellular structure (POCS) was designed and fabricated. The catalyst was used for batch steam reforming biomass pyrolysis volatiles for syngas production at different parameters (temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio). The results showed complete reforming of pyrolysis volatiles in all experimental cases, a high H2 yield of ≈ 7.6 wt% of biomass was obtained at the optimized steam-to-carbon ratio of 8 and a reforming temperature of 800 °C, which is a higher yield compared to other batch reforming tests reported in the literature. Moreover, CFD simulation results in COMSOL Multiphysics demonstrated that the POCS configuration improves the reforming of pyrolysis volatiles for tar/bio-oil reforming and H2 production thanks to enhanced mass and heat transfer properties compared to the regular monolithic single-channel configuration.