THE USE OF WASTE BIOMASS, E. G., SAWDUST, IS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR HEATING AND INDUSTRY IN COUNTRIES WITH LARGE AREAS OF RADIATA PINE AND EUCALYPTUS FORESTS. INDEED, THE CHILEAN DEMAND FOR DOMESTIC, INDUSTRIAL, AND DISTRICT HEATING HAS BEEN INCREASING IN RECENT YEARS, STANDING AT 75 KT/Y AND INCREASING BY 400 % UNTIL 2030. HOWEVER, BURNING HYDROPHILIC SAWDUST PELLETS AND WOODEN LOGS GENERATES PARTICLE MATTER, NOX, AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS) EMISSIONS THAT HAVE PLACED THIS FUEL AS ONE OF THE MOST CONTRIBUTING POLLUTANTS TO THE ATMOSPHERE IN SOUTHERN CHILE. ACCORDING TO CURRENT EMISSION INVENTORIES, RESIDENTIAL BIOMASS COMBUSTION CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN 95 % OF TOTAL PARTICULATE MATTER EMISSIONS. IT HAS BECOME A LIMITATION FOR BIOMASS AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY AND A CHALLENGE FOR APPLYING WASTE-TO-ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES TO OBTAIN BIOCHARS WITH GREATER CALORIFIC VALUE AND LESS ASH. ON THE OTHER HAND, PAHS ARE THE MOST PROBLEMATIC POLLUTANTS GROUP TO REDUCE IN THE SOLID AND GAS PHASE DUE TO THEIR HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO STUDY A SYSTEM THAT DIMINISHES THOSE POLLUTANTS BY IMPROVING THE SOLID FUEL AND THE PELLET STOVE AND DEVELOPING AN EFFICIENT POLLUTION CONTROL SYSTEM, LIKE A PAHS BIOFILTER. THIS RESEARCH STUDIED THE EMISSION OF BENZO(A)PYRENE, A MODEL COMPOUND OF PAHS, DURING THE COMBUSTION OF COMMERCIAL PELLETS IN A STOVE. THE PAHS EMISSIONS, DETERMINED BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY, WERE BETWEEN 17.8 AND 22.4 ?G/KG OF PELLETS WITH AN OPERATING TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 350 TO 450 °C. A BIOFILTRATION SYSTEM TREATED THE EXIT COMBUSTION GAS FOR POLLUTANT ABATEMENT. VERMICULITE WAS USED AS A SUPPORT MEDIUM COATED WITH A MICROBIAL CONSORTIUM COMPOSED OF FUSARIUM SOLANIS AND RHODOCOCCUS ERYTHROPOLIS. THE SYSTEM SHOWED AN EFFICIENCY OF NEARLY 70 % AND AN ELIMINATION CAPACITY OF 250 ?GM-3H-1. ON THE OTHER HAND, FOR THE CFD MODELING, THE GEOMETRY WAS OBTAINED BY A MATHEMATICAL ALGORITHM OF RANDOM GENERATION FOR PACKED BEDS IN BIOREACTORS. THE MODEL MESHING AND NUMERI

NOWADAYS, LEAVES, BARK, AND BRANCHES ARE GENERATED FROM THE TREE-PRUNING PROCESS IN URBAN PLACES, WHERE THEIR MANAGEMENT IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE NECESSITY OF DISPOSAL. THESE WASTES ARE LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASSES WITH POOR PROPERTIES FOR USE IN BIOFUEL PRODUCTION, BUT WITH INTERESTING PROJECTIONS FOR BUILDING BLOCK PRODUCTS SUCH AS PHENOL COMPOUNDS. THEREFORE, EXTENSIVE BIOMASS CHARACTERIZATION OF URBAN PRUNING FROM LIQUIDAMBAR STYRACIFLUA L. WAS DEVELOPED TO EVALUATE ITS COMPOSITION AS A TOOL FOR PHENOL PRODUCTION THROUGH THERMAL PROCESSING, IN WHICH SOLVENT EXTRACTION IS A COMPLEMENTARY TOOL FOR SELECTIVITY IMPROVEMENT. THE RESULTS SHOWED HIGH LIGNIN CONTENT IN BARK AND LEAVES AT 45 AND 28 %, RESPECTIVELY, COMPARED WITH THAT IN BRANCHES (14 %). ADDITIONALLY, HIGH EXTRACTIVES IN LEAVES (14 %) COULD BE AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF PHENOLS. THE LIGNIN UNITS WERE ANALYZED BY RAMAN DISPERSION, REVEALING P?HYDROXYPHENYL (H) UNITS IN THE BARK, GUAIACYL (G) UNITS IN THE BARK AND LEAVES, AND SYRINGYL (S) UNITS ONLY IN THE BRANCHES. FURTHERMORE, THE MICROPYROLYSIS COUPLED WITH GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/ MASS SPECTROMETRY ASSAY REALIZED AT 600 ?C SHOWED HIGH PRESENCE OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN THE THREE BIOMASS INVESTIGATED, WHERE A HIGH PHENOL CONCENTRATION WAS IDENTIFIED IN LEAVES, PROBABLY DUE TO THE S UNIT DEGRADATION DURING PYROLYSIS. WITH THESE RESULTS, AN ASSAY FOR BIO-OIL PRODUCTION WAS PERFORMED IN A LOW-TEMPERATURE PY- ROLYSIS REACTOR USING LEAVES AS FEEDSTOCK, REACHING A LOW BIO-OIL YIELD WITH HIGH WATER CONTENT FAVORED FOR THE HIGH INORGANIC CONTENT OF LEAVES (13 %). THE PRODUCED BIO-OIL WAS USED FOR LIQUID?LIQUID EXTRACTION EVALUATION, WHERE 1-OCTANOL AND METHYL ISOBUTYL KETONE WERE IDENTIFIED AS INTERESTING SOLVENTS FOR CATECHOL AND PHENOL EXTRACTION, RESPECTIVELY. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS THE CHALLENGE OF CHARACTERIZING EACH PART OF URBAN TREES, WHICH COULD BE A TOOL TO PROMOTE THE USE OF URBAN PRUNING BY STUDYING THE THERMAL DEGRADATION MECHANISM TO IMPLEMENT PROCESSES FO

CATALYTIC BIOMASS PYROLYSIS IS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING ROUTES FOR OBTAINING BIO-SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS THAT REPLACE PETROLEUM DERIVATIVES. THIS STUDY EVALUATES THE PRODUCTION OF AROMATIC COMPOUNDS (BENZENE, TOLUENE, AND XYLENE (BTX)) FROM THE CATALYTIC PYROLYSIS OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS (PINUS RADIATA (PR) AND EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS (EG)). CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE (NZ) WAS USED AS A CATALYST FOR PYROLYSIS REACTIONS, WHICH WAS MODIFIED BY DOUBLE ION EXCHANGE (H2NZ) AND TRANSITION METALS IMPREGNATION (CU5H2NZ AND NI5H2NZ). THE CATALYSTS WERE CHARACTERIZED BY NITROGEN ADSORPTION, X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD), AMMONIUM PROGRAMMED DESORPTION (TPD-NH3), AND SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY WITH ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY (SEM-EDS). ANALYTICAL PYROLYSIS COUPLED WITH GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY (PY-GC/MS) ALLOWED US TO STUDY THE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL AND MODIFIED ZEOLITE CATALYSTS ON BTX PRODUCTION. XRD ANALYSIS CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF METAL OXIDES (CUO AND NIO) IN THE ZEOLITE FRAMEWORK, AND SEM-EDS CONFIRMED SUCCESSFUL METAL IMPREGNATION (6.20% FOR CU5H2NZ AND 6.97% FOR NI5H2NZ). PY-GC/MS REVEALED A REDUCTION IN OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS SUCH AS ESTERS, KETONES, AND PHENOLS, ALONG WITH AN INCREASE IN AROMATIC COMPOUNDS IN PR FROM 2.92% W/W (WITHOUT CATALYST) TO 20.89% W/W WITH NI5H2NZ AT A BIOMASS/CATALYST RATIO OF 1/5, AND IN EG FROM 2.69% W/W (WITHOUT CATALYST) TO 30.53% W/W WITH NI5H2NZ AT A BIOMASS/CATALYST RATIO OF 1/2.5. THESE INCREASES CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO ACIDIC SITES WITHIN THE CATALYST PORES OR ON THEIR SURFACE, FACILITATING DEOXYGENATION REACTIONS SUCH AS DEHYDRATION, DECARBOXYLATION, DECARBONYLATION, ALDOL CONDENSATION, AND AROMATIZATION. OVERALL, THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATED THAT THE CATALYTIC BIOMASS PYROLYSIS PROCESS USING CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE MODIFIED WITH DOUBLE ION EXCHANGE AND IMPREGNATED WITH TRANSITION METALS (CU AND NI) COULD BE HIGHLY ADVANTAGEOUS FOR ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT CONVERSION OF OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS INTO HYDROCARBONS ...

VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE TO HEALTH DUE TO THEIR CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS. CATALYTIC OZONATION USING ZEOLITE APPEARS AS A VALUABLE PROCESS TO ELIMINATE VOCS FROM INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. FOR FULL-SCALE APPLICATION OF THIS NEW ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGY, AN INTRINSIC REACTION RATE EQUATION IS NEEDED FOR AN EFFECTIVE PROCESS DESIGN AND SCALE-UP. RESULTS OBTAINED HERE PROVIDE A MECHANISTIC APPROACH DURING THE INITIAL STAGE OF CATALYTIC OZONATION OF TOLUENE USING AN ACIDIC SURFACE TRANSFORMED NATURAL ZEOLITE. IN PARTICULAR, THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEWIS AND BRØNSTED ACID SITES ON THE SURFACE REACTION MECHANISM AND OVERALL KINETIC RATE ARE IDENTIFIED THROUGH EXPERIMENTAL DATA. THE LEAST-SQUARES NON-LINEAR REGRESSION METHOD ALLOWS THE RATE-DETERMINING STEP TO BE ESTABLISHED, FOLLOWING A LANGMUIR?HINSHELWOOD SURFACE REACTION APPROXIMATION. EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE SUGGEST THAT OZONE IS ADSORBED AND DECOMPOSED AT LEWIS ACID SITES, FORMING ACTIVE ATOMIC OXYGEN THAT LEADS TO THE OXIDATION OF ADSORBED TOLUENE AT BRØNSTED ACID SITES.

THE INFLUENCE OF SURFACE PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE ON THE CATALYTIC OZONATION OF TOLUENE IS PRESENTED IN THIS ARTICLE. SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL ZEOLITE WERE MODIFIED BY ACID TREATMENT WITH HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND ION-EXCHANGE WITH AMMONIUM SULPHATE. PRIOR TO CATALYTIC OZONATION ASSAYS, NATURAL AND CHEMICALLY MODIFIED ZEOLITE SAMPLES WERE THERMALLY TREATED AT 623 AND 823 K IN ORDER TO ENHANCE BRØNSTED AND LEWIS ACID SITES FORMATION, RESPECTIVELY. NATURAL AND MODIFIED ZEOLITE SAMPLES WERE CHARACTERISED BY N2 ADSORPTION AT 77 K, ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS, X-RAY FLUORESCENCE, AND FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED (FTIR) SPECTROSCOPY, USING PYRIDINE AS A PROBE MOLECULE. THE HIGHEST VALUES OF THE REACTION RATE OF TOLUENE OXIDATION WERE OBSERVED WHEN NH4Z1 AND 2NH4Z1 ZEOLITE SAMPLES WERE USED. THOSE SAMPLES REGISTERED THE HIGHEST DENSITY VALUES OF LEWIS ACID SITES COMPARED TO OTHER SAMPLES USED HERE. RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE PRESENCE OF STRONG LEWIS ACID SITES AT THE 2NH4Z1 ZEOLITE SURFACE CAUSES AN INCREASE IN THE REACTION RATE OF TOLUENE OXIDATION, CONFIRMING THE ROLE OF LEWIS ACID SITES DURING THE CATALYTIC OZONATION OF TOLUENE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. LEWIS ACID SITES DECOMPOSE GASEOUS OZONE INTO ATOMIC OXYGEN, WHICH REACTS WITH THE ADSORBED TOLUENE AT BRØNSTED ACID SITES. ON THE OTHER HAND, NO SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION OF BRØNSTED ACID SITES ON THE REACTION RATE WAS REGISTERED WHEN NH4Z1 AND 2NH4Z1 ZEOLITE SAMPLES WERE USED.

THIS PAPER PROPOSES THE CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE AS CATALYST ON BIO-OIL UPGRADE PROCESSES. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF BIO-OIL SAMPLES OBTAINED FROM CATALYTIC PYROLYSIS OF CHILEAN NATIVE OAK IN ORDER TO INCREASE BIO-OIL STABILITY DURING STORAGE. IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS BEFORE AND AFTER STORAGE, BIOMASS PYROLYSIS WAS CARRIED OUT IN A FIXED BED REACTOR AT 623 K AND BIO-OIL SAMPLES WERE CHARACTERIZED BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROPHOTOMETRY (GC/MS). A BIO-OIL FRACTIONATION METHOD WAS SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED HERE. RESULTS INDICATE THAT BIO-OIL VISCOSITY DECREASES DUE TO ACTIVE SITES ON THE ZEOLITE FRAMEWORK. ACTIVE ACIDS SITES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREMENT OF ALCOHOLS, ALDEHYDES, AND HYDROCARBON CONTENT DURING STORAGE. HIGHER COMPOSITION ON ALDEHYDES AND ALCOHOLS AFTER STORAGE COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE OCCURRENCE OF CARBONYL REDUCTION REACTIONS THAT PROMOTES THEM. THESE REACTIONS ARE INFLUENCED BY ZEOLITE SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS AND COULD BE ACHIEVED VIA THE DIRECT CONTRIBUTION OF BRØNSTED ACID SITES TO CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE.

HYDROGELS OF TEMPO-OXIDIZED NANOCELLULOSE WERE STABILIZED FOR DRY-JET WET SPINNING USING A SHELL OF CELLULOSE DISSOLVED IN 1,5-DIAZABICYCLO[4.3.0]NON-5-ENIUM PROPIONATE ([DBNH][CO2ET]), A PROTIC IONIC LIQUID (PIL). COAGULATION IN AN ACIDIC WATER BATH RESULTED IN CONTINUOUS CORE-SHELL FILAMENTS (CSFS) THAT WERE TOUGH AND FLEXIBLE WITH AN AVERAGE DRY (AND WET) TOUGHNESS OF ?11 (2) MJ·M-3 AND ELONGATION OF ?9 (14) %. THE CSF MORPHOLOGY, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, THERMAL STABILITY, CRYSTALLINITY, AND BACTERIAL ACTIVITY WERE ASSESSED USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY WITH ENERGY-DISPERSIVE X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY, LIQUID-STATE NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE, FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY, THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS, PYROLYSIS GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY, WIDE-ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING, AND BACTERIAL CELL CULTURING, RESPECTIVELY. THE COAXIAL WET SPINNING YIELDS PIL-FREE SYSTEMS CARRYING ON THE SURFACE THE CELLULOSE II POLYMORPH, WHICH NOT ONLY ENHANCES THE TOUGHNESS OF THE FILAMENTS BUT FACILITIES THEIR FUNCTIONALIZATION.

THE ACCUMULATION OF PLASTIC WASTE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES HAS LED THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO SEARCH FOR NEW MATERIALS TO MAKE NANOCOMPOSITES BIOFILMS. WITH THE HELP OF NANOTECHNOLOGY, THE MATERIALS THAT MAKE UP THE NEW NANOCOMPOSITES BIOFILM CAN BE MANIPULATED, ACHIEVING AN IMPROVEMENT IN ITS MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND GRANTING ANTIMICROBIAL POWERS. BIOFILMS BASED ON ELECTROSPUN FIBERS AS A BARRIER MATERIAL CAN PROTECT AGAINST INFECTIOUS MICROORGANISMS. FOR THESE APPLICATIONS, THE ELECTROSPINNING METHOD ALLOWS THE ENCAPSULATION OF ACTIVE AGENTS IN THE POLYMERIC FIBERS. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NANOCOMPOSITES BIOFILM WITH POTENTIAL USE AS AN ANTIMICROBIAL BARRIER, WHICH INCORPORATES POLYLACTIC ACID MICROFIBERS WITH ACTIVE AGENTS. AMONG THEM, COPPER IONS SUPPORTED ON CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE NANOPARTICLES AND REINFORCED WITH ACETYLATED CELLULOSE NANOFIBERS. THE STUDY BEGINS WITH OBTAINING CELLULOSE NANOFIBERS THROUGH MECHANICAL METHODS. NANOFIBERS WERE ACETYLATED TO ENSURE ADEQUATE DISPERSION IN THE POLYMER MATRIX AND TO IMPROVE THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIOFILMS. POLYMERS AND NANOPARTICLES WERE INCORPORATED INTO BIOFILMS THROUGH A DUAL CONFIGURATION (SIMULTANEOUS INJECTION) ELECTROSPINNING STAGE.

HYDROTHERMAL CARBONISATION OFFERS A PROMISING SOLUTION TO TRANSFORM ORGANIC WASTE FROM AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY INDUSTRIES INTO A HIGH-CALORIFIC HYDROPHOBIC SOLID FUEL. WHILE STILL IN THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT STAGES, HTC SHOWS POTENTIAL FOR LARGE-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION. COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS WERE CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF AN INDUSTRIAL-SCALE HTC PROCESS FOR SAWDUST OF RADIATA PINE, VALIDATED AGAINST EXPERIMENTAL DATA FOR ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY. RESULTS INDICATE THAT MASS YIELD DEPENDS ON TEMPERATURE, RESIDENCE TIME, AND BIOMASS-TO-WATER RATIO (B/W), WHILE THE ENERGY YIELD OF THE HYDROCHAR WAS PRIMARILY INFLUENCED BY THE PROCESS TIME AND TEMPERATURE. LONGER TIMES AND HIGHER TEMPERATURES GENERALLY RESULTED IN HIGHER ENERGY YIELDS. THIS FINDING HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF OPTIMISING THE PROCESS PARAMETERS TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED ENERGY OUTPUT. THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED THE VIABILITY OF THE INDUSTRIAL-SCALE HTC PROCESS. THE STUDY CONSIDERED A 20 Y EVALUATION PERIOD WITH A DISCOUNT RATE OF 8 % AND A WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL (WACC) OF 5.4 %. THE RETURN ON EQUITY (ROE) WAS FOUND TO BE 17.4 %. BASED ON THESE FINDINGS, UTILISING RADIATA PINE SAWDUST, WITH A RESIDUAL BIOMASS FLOW OF 200 T/DAY, AN OPERATING TEMPERATURE OF 190 °C, A REACTOR RESIDENCE TIME OF 1 H, A B/W RATIO OF 10 %, AND A HYDROCHAR PELLET PRICE OF 300 CLP/KG (0.3 USD/KG) YIELDS AN ECONOMICALLY VIABLE SCENARIO FOR STOVE PELLET PRODUCTION. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT DEMAND MUST NOT FALL BELOW 15 T/H FOR PROJECT FEASIBILITY, EVEN WHEN POSITIVE NET PRESENT VALUE (NPV) CONDITIONS WERE MET.

THE EFFECTS OF USING (NH4)2SO4 AS A CARBONIZATION PROMOTER FOR PRODUCING CELLULOSE-DERIVED CARBON AEROGELS (CAG) WAS STUDIED. THE EFFECTS OF PRETREATMENT ON THE TEXTURAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PRISTINE CELLULOSE NANOFIBERS (CNF) WERE ANALYZED THROUGH N2 ADSORPTION, SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM), X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD), ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS, INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA OPTICAL EMISSION SPECTROMETRY (ICP-OES), AND FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FT-IR). FURTHERMORE, THE THERMAL BEHAVIORS OF RAW CNF AND THOSE IMPREGNATED WITH (NH4)2SO4 WERE INVESTIGATED BY COUPLING THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS WITH MASS SPECTROMETRY (TGA-MS). THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE PRETREATMENT DID NOT CAUSE ANY MORPHOLOGICAL/STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE NANOFIBERS. HOWEVER, THE PRESENCE OF (NH4)2SO4 AFFECTED THEIR PYROLYSIS BY FAVORING INTERMOLECULAR DEHYDRATION, THEREBY REDUCING THE FORMATION OF LEVOGLUCOSAN AND INCREASING THE CARBON YIELD DURING PYROLYSIS. INTERESTINGLY, ABOVE CERTAIN IMPREGNATION LEVEL, THE CONCENTRATION OF SULFATE-DERIVED SPECIES IN THE GAS PHASE INCREASED. THIS PHENOMENON WAS ATTRIBUTED TO AN EXCESS OF SALT WITHIN THE FIBER STRUCTURE AND ON THEIR SURFACES. CONSEQUENTLY, THE LEVOGLUCOSAN-TO-CARBON ROUTE WAS INHIBITED, AND THE MECHANISMS OF INTRA- AND INTER-MOLECULAR DEHYDRATION, CHAIN SCISSION, AND CROSSLINKING REACTIONS WERE AFFECTED, LEADING TO A REDUCED CHAR YIELD. THE CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF AMMONIA-BASED SALTS IS ELUCIDATED SUPPORTED ON THE INTERPRETATION OF MS SIGNALS AND KINETIC MODELING RESULTS.

THIS RESEARCH EVALUATED THE CONTRIBUTION OF NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS BASED ON DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF NZH-CU (1%, 2%, AND 3%) TO THE MICROBIOLOGICAL, ORGANOLEPTIC, AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PACKED CHICKEN BREAST MEAT. ANALYSIS OF SOME MEAT QUALITY TRAITS, SUCH AS MICROBIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, AND PHYSICAL, WERE CONDUCTED ON A LABORATORY SCALE. FOR THIS, SMALL SQUARES OF CHICKEN BREAST MEAT, WEIGHING APPROXIMATELY 10 G, WERE ASEPTICALLY WRAPPED WITH RECTANGULAR PIECES OF 5 × 10 CM PLA-NZH-CU NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS, WHICH WERE STORED AT 4 °C FOR 20 DAYS. THE MICROBIOLOGICAL RESULTS INDICATED EFFICIENT ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY (AT ANY NZH-CU CONCENTRATION IN THE NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS) ON THE TOTAL VIABLE COUNT OF GROUPS OF PSYCHROPHILES, AEROBIC MESOPHILES, ENTEROBACTERIACEAE, AND SALMONELLA SPP. UNTIL DAY 10 OF STORAGE (P < 0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE ORGANOLEPTIC (COLOR) AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL QUALITIES (TEXTURE, WEIGHT, PH, AND ACIDITY) UNTIL DAY 10 OF STORAGE AT 4 °C (P < 0.05). THE ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL TESTS CARRIED OUT DETERMINED THAT THE PLA-NZH-CU NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS PLAYED AN EFFECTIVE ROLE IN THE BACTERIAL SAFETY OF THE PACKAGED CHICKEN. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE NZH-CU NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS, AT ALL CONCENTRATIONS TESTED, EXTENDED THE SHELF LIFE OF THE CHICKEN BREAST MEAT FOR UP TO 10 DAYS IN A REFRIGERATOR AT 4 °C.

THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF HYDROTHERMAL TREATMENT COMBINED WITH ACETIC ACID ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRODUCTS IN BIO-OIL OBTAINED FROM GRAPE SEED PYROLYSIS. A BOX-BEHNKEN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED, VARYING PH (2.0, 4.5, AND 7.0), TEMPERATURE (160, 180, AND 200 °C), AND FLOW RATE (1, 2, AND 3 ML·MIN?1) TO DETERMINE THE HYDROTHERMAL TREATMENT?S IMPACT ON PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION. A PYROLYSIS?GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY SYSTEM WAS USED TO PERFORM PYROLYSIS OF HYDROTREATED BIOMASS AND ANALYZE PRODUCT COMPOSITION. OPTIMIZED MODELS REVEALED THAT DIFFERENT PROCESS CONDITIONS FAVORED DISTINCT COMPOUND TYPES. FOR EXAMPLE, INCREASED TEMPERATURE AND DECREASED PH AND FLOW RATES ENHANCED HYDROCARBON PRESENCE, ACHIEVING 32.3% ABUNDANCE COMPARED TO 1.15% IN UNTREATED BIOMASS. CONVERSELY, OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS SUCH AS KETONES AND ALDEHYDES WERE OPTIMIZED AT HIGH FLOW RATES, MILDER TEMPERATURES, AND LOW/HIGH PH, REACHING 66.7% ABUNDANCE COMPARED TO 42.6% FOR UNTREATED BIOMASS. THIS WORK STANDS OUT FOR THE GREEN SOLVENT-ASSISTED HYDROTHERMAL PROCESSING OF GRAPE SEEDS, ADDING VALUE TO A LOW-APPLICABILITY AGRO-INDUSTRIAL RESIDUE. IT REDUCES PROCESS TOXICITY AND RESULTS IN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PRESENCE OF HYDROCARBONS IN THE BIO-OIL, REPRESENTING A PROMISING APPROACH FOR CONVERTING BIOMASS WASTE INTO VALUABLE BIOPRODUCTS WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN THE CHEMICAL AND FUEL INDUSTRY. IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES THE POTENTIAL SCALABILITY OF THIS TECHNOLOGY. THESE INNOVATIVE ASPECTS ARE RELEVANT TO WASTE MANAGEMENT AND THE SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY AND CHEMICALS.

THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMICAL SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILEAN NATURAL AND MODIFIED ZEOLITES ON CHILEAN OAK CATALYTIC PYROLYSIS WAS INVESTIGATED IN THIS STUDY. CHILEAN ZEOLITE SAMPLES WERE CHARACTERISED BY NITROGEN ABSORPTION AT 77 K, X-RAY POWDER DIFFRACTION (XRD), AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE (XRF). THE NATURE AND STRENGTH OF ZEOLITE ACID SITES WERE STUDIED BY DIFFUSE REFLECTANCE INFRARED FOURIER TRANSFORM (DRIFT), USING PYRIDINE AS A PROBE MOLECULE. EXPERIMENTAL PYROLYSIS WAS CONDUCTED IN A QUARTZ CYLINDRICAL REACTOR AND BIO-OILS WERE OBTAINED BY CONDENSATION OF VAPOURS IN A CLOSED CONTAINER. CHEMICAL SPECIES IN BIO-OIL SAMPLES WERE IDENTIFIED BY A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROPHOTOMETRY (GC/MS) ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE. RESULTS INDICATE THAT AFTER THE IONIC EXCHANGE TREATMENT, AN INCREASE OF THE BRØNSTED ACID SITE DENSITY AND STRENGTH WAS OBSERVED IN AMMONIUM-MODIFIED ZEOLITES. BRØNSTED ACIDS SITES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREMENT OF THE COMPOSITION OF KETONES, ALDEHYDES, AND HYDROCARBONS AND TO A DECREASE IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE FOLLOWING FAMILIES (ESTERS; ETHERS; AND ACIDS) IN OBTAINED BIO-OIL SAMPLES. THE BRØNSTED ACID SITES ON AMMONIUM-MODIFIED ZEOLITE SAMPLES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UPGRADED BIO-OIL AND VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS, OBTAINED IN THIS RESEARCH. BIO-OIL CHEMICAL COMPOSITION WAS MODIFIED WHEN THE PYROLYSIS-DERIVED COMPOUNDS WERE UPGRADED OVER A 2NHZ ZEOLITE SAMPLE, LEADING TO A LOWER QUANTITY OF OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS AND A HIGHER COMPOSITION OF VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS.

MOF@BIOMASS LAYERED HYBRIDS WERE DESIGNED THROUGH IN SITU GROWTH FROM RICE HUSK (RH) AND MICROWAVE-ASSISTED SYNTHESIZED MIL-53(AL) PARTICLES THAT ENABLE THE REDUCTION OF REACTION TIMES. THE SYNTHESIS PROCESS INCLUDED STEPS TO PRETREAT RH, AL ADSORPTION ON RH, AND THEN MIL-53(AL) IN-SITU GROWTH REACTION AT 125 ?C FOR 60 MIN AND 200 W IRRADIATION POWER. THE RESULTING HYBRID (MIL-53(AL)@RH) AND ITS PARENT SEPARATE MATERIALS WERE CHARACTERIZED USING TGA, SEM, FTIR, XRD, AMONG OTHERS. MIL-53(AL)@RH SHOWED HIGH CRYSTALLINITY IN THE HYBRIDIZED MOF PARTICLES, THERMAL DECOMPOSITION PHASES, AND FUNCTIONAL GROUPS (AL?O, O?H, C??O, AND C??C). THE HYBRID PARTICLES ALLOW AN EASY SEPARATION DURING HETEROGENEOUS PROCESSING DUE TO THEIR 400 TIMES LARGER SIZE COMPARED TO MIL-53(AL) CRYSTALS. THE PROPERTIES OF THE LAYERED HYBRIDS FOR REMOVAL OF OXYTETRACYCLINE (OTC),

THIS ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE PRODUCTION OF NANOPARTICLES OF CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE, USING THREE SIZE REDUCTION METHODS: BALL MILL, MICROGRINDING, AND MICROFLUIDIZATION. MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SAMPLES INDICATED AN AVERAGE DIAMETER OF 37.2 ± 15.8 NM OF THE ZEOLITE PARTICLES. THE SIZE REDUCTION AND CHEMICAL TREATMENTS DID NOT AFFECT THE MORPHOLOGY OR INTEGRITY OF THE ZEOLITE. AN INCREASE OF THE ZEOLITE SAMPLES SI/AL RATIO WAS OBSERVED AFTER THE ACID TREATMENT AND WAS CONFIRMED BY SEM-EDX ANALYSIS. MOREOVER, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COPPER SALT ION EXCHANGE (CU2+) TO THE ZEOLITE NANOPARTICLES WAS ANALYZED BY SEM-EDX. XRD ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT CLINOPTILOLITE AND MORDENITE ARE THE MAIN PHASES OF CHILEAN NATURAL ZEOLITE, AND THE CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE MODIFICATION PROCESSES. THE FTIR CHARACTERIZATION SHOWED THE PRESENCE OF CHEMICAL BONDS OF COPPER WITH THE ZEOLITE NANOPARTICLE FRAMEWORK. THE ION-EXCHANGED ZEOLITE NANOPARTICLES WERE EVALUATED FOR ANTIBACTERIAL BEHAVIOR BY THE DISC DIFFUSION METHOD. ADDITIONALLY, THE MINIMUM INHIBITORY CONCENTRATION AND MINIMUM BACTERICIDAL CONCENTRATION WERE OBTAINED. MICROBIOLOGICAL ASSAYS WITH COPPER-EXCHANGED NANOZEOLITES SHOWED AN ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY WITH A BACTERICIDAL EFFECT AGAINST ESCHERICHIA COLI AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS, WHICH ARE THE PRIMARY PATHOGENS OF FOOD AND ARE ALSO RESISTANT TO MULTIPLE DRUGS. IN THIS STUDY, A NEW APPLICATION FOR NATURAL NANOZEOLITES IS DEMONSTRATED, AS THE INCORPORATED COPPER IONS (CU2+) IN NANOZEOLITES REGISTERED A PRODUCTIVE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY.

IN RECENT YEARS, VARIOUS THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES HAVE BEEN STUDIED TO OBTAIN BIOENERGY. HYDROTHERMAL CARBONIZATION (HTC) HAS PROVEN TO BE A CONVENIENT ALTERNATIVE SINCE IT ALLOWS BIOMASS WITH HIGH MOISTURE AND ASH CONTENT TO BE PROCESSED WITHOUT PRIOR DRYING PROCESSES, OBTAINING A BIOFUEL WITH UP TO 20 TO 30 % MORE CALORIFIC VALUE COMPARED TO BIOMASS. HOWEVER, THE MAIN CHALLENGE IS DETERMINING OPTIMUM POINTS OF INCREASE IN CALORIFIC POWER AND ENERGY PERFORMANCE TO TRANSFORM IT INTO ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. THIS STUDY PROPOSES THE STUDY AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE HTC PROCESS WITH TWO CHILEAN BIOMASSES: SAWDUST (PINUS RADIATA) AND RAPESEED (BRASSICA NAPUS). MASS YIELD (MY), HIGHER HEATING VALUE (HHV), AND ENERGY YIELD (EY) WERE ANALYZED BY APPLYING A DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS (DOE) WITH THREE FACTORS AND TWO LEVELS (23). THE VARIABLES USED AND THEIR LEVELS WERE TEMPERATURE (T): 190 - 250 °C; TIME (T): 60-120 MIN; AND BIOMASS/WATER RATIO (B/W): 8 ? 14 % FOR RAPESEED AND 10 ? 16 % FOR SAWDUST. FOR SAWDUST, INCREASING THE TEMPERATURE FROM 190 TO 250 °C RAISED HHV BY 23 % AND LOWERED MY (BY 21 %) AND EY (BY 18 %). RAPESEED HHV SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 23 %, WHILE MY AND EY DECREASED BY 11 AND 14 %. IN THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, THE MOST INFLUENTIAL VARIABLES FOR BOTH BIOMASSES WERE TEMPERATURE AND THE B/W RATIO, SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS FOUND IN PREVIOUS STUDIES. NEW OPERATING POINTS WERE DETERMINED TO MAXIMIZE THE HHV OF THE HYDROCHAR USING THE RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY AND THE EQUATIONS OBTAINED FROM THE DOE (R2 ABOVE 0.98). THE RESULTS ACHIEVED WERE HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE INDICATED IN THE LITERATURE. FOR SAWDUST, AN EY OF 77 % AND AN HHV OF 28.6 MJ/KG (+48 %) WERE OBTAINED AT 280 °C, 100 MIN, AND A B/W OF 13 %. ON THE OTHER HAND, FOR RAPESEED, EY=49.2 % AND HHV=29.1 MJ/KG (+37 %) WERE ACHIEVED AT 280 °C, 90 MIN, AND A B/W RATIO OF 10 %.

BIOMASS PROVIDES POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR OBTAINING VALUE-ADDED COMPOUNDS INSTEAD OF STRAIGHT BURNING; AS CHILE HAS FORESTRY POTENTIAL THAT SUPPORTS SUCH BENEFITS, IT IS CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTAND THE BIOMASSES? PROPERTIES AND THEIR THERMOCHEMICAL BEHAVIOUR. THIS RESEARCH PRESENTS A KINETIC ANALYSIS OF THERMOGRAVIMETRY, AND PYROLYSIS OF REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES IN THE BIOMASS OF SOUTHERN CHILE, HEATING BIOMASSES AT 5 TO 40 °C·MIN?1 RATES BEFORE BEING SUBJECTED TO THERMAL VOLATILISATION. THE ACTIVATION ENERGY (EA) WAS CALCULATED FROM CONVERSION USING MODEL-FREE METHODS (FLYNN?WALL?OZAWA (FWO), KISSINGER?AKAHIRA?SUNOSE (KAS), AND FRIEDMAN (FR)), AS WELL AS THE KISSINGER METHOD BASED ON THE MAXIMUM REACTION RATE. THE AVERAGE EA VARIED BETWEEN KAS 117 AND 171 KJ·MOL?1, FWO 120?170 KJ·MOL?1, AND FR 115?194 KJ·MOL?1 FOR THE FIVE BIOMASSES USED. PINUS RADIATA (PR) WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE MOST SUITED WOOD FOR PRODUCING VALUE-ADDED GOODS BASED ON THE EA PROFILE FOR THE CONVERSION (?), ALONG WITH EUCALYPTUS NITENS (EN) FOR ITS HIGH VALUE OF REACTION CONSTANT (K). EACH BIOMASS DEMONSTRATED ACCELERATED DECOMPOSITION (AN INCREASE IN K RELATIVE TO ?). THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF BIO-OIL CONTAINING PHENOLIC, KETONIC, AND FURANIC COMPOUNDS WAS PRODUCED BY THE FORESTRY EXPLOITATION BIOMASSES PR AND EN, DEMONSTRATING THE VIABILITY OF THESE MATERIALS FOR THERMOCONVERSION PROCESSES.

THIS STUDY EMPLOYED A HYDROGEN ATMOSPHERE IN AN ANALYTICAL REACTOR TO INVESTIGATE THE THERMOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATION OF CHILEAN OAK (CHO) AND POLYETHYLENE. THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ASSAYS AND COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSES OF THE EVOLVED GASEOUS CHEMICALS PROVIDED VALUABLE INSIGHTS REGARDING THE SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS DURING THE CO-HYDROPYROLYSIS OF BIOMASS AND PLASTICS. A SYSTEMATIC EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN APPROACH ASSESSED THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DIFFERENT VARIABLES, REVEALING THE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE OF THE BIOMASS/PLASTIC RATIO AND HYDROGEN PRESSURE. ANALYSIS OF THE GAS PHASE COMPOSITION SHOWED THAT CO-HYDROPYROLYSIS WITH LDPE RESULTED IN LOWER LEVELS OF ALCOHOLS, KETONES, PHENOLS, AND OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS. CHO EXHIBITED AN AVERAGE OXYGENATED COMPOUND CONTENT OF 70.13%, WHILE LDPE AND HDPE HAD 5.9% AND 1.4%, RESPECTIVELY. EXPERIMENTAL ASSAYS UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REDUCED KETONES AND PHENOLS TO 2?3%. INCLUDING A HYDROGEN ATMOSPHERE DURING CO-HYDROPYROLYSIS CONTRIBUTES TO ENHANCED REACTION KINETICS AND REDUCED FORMATION OF OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS, INDICATING ITS BENEFICIAL ROLE IN IMPROVING REACTIONS AND DIMINISHING THE PRODUCTION OF UNDESIRED BY-PRODUCTS. SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED, WITH REDUCTIONS OF UP TO 350% FOR HDPE AND 200% FOR LDPE COMPARED TO THE EXPECTED VALUES, ACHIEVING HIGHER SYNERGISTIC COEFFICIENTS WITH HDPE. THE PROPOSED REACTION MECHANISM PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SIMULTANEOUS DECOMPOSITION OF BIOMASS AND POLYETHYLENE POLYMER CHAINS, FORMING VALUABLE BIO-OIL PRODUCTS AND DEMONSTRATING THE HOW THE HYDROGEN ATMOSPHERE MODULATES AND INFLUENCES THE REACTION PATHWAYS AND PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION. FOR THIS REASON, THE CO-HYDROPYROLYSIS OF BIOMASS?PLASTIC BLENDS IS A TECHNIQUE WITH GREAT POTENTIAL TO ACHIEVE LOWER LEVELS OF OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS, WHICH SHOULD BE FURTHER EXPLORED IN SUBSEQUENT STUDIES TO ADDRESS SCALABILITY AND EFFICIENCY AT PILOT AND INDUSTRIAL LEVELS.

BLUEBERRY PRUNING WASTE (BPW), SOURCED AS RESIDUES FROM AGROFORESTRY OPERATIONS IN CHILE, WAS USED TO PRODUCE ADDED-VALUE PRODUCTS, INCLUDING PLATFORM CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS. BPW FRACTIONATION WAS IMPLEMENTED USING BIOBASED SOLVENTS (?-VALEROLACTONE, GVL) AND PYROLYSIS (500 °C), YIELDING SOLID FRACTIONS THAT ARE RICH IN PHENOLS AND ANTIOXIDANTS. THE LIQUID FRACTION WAS FOUND TO BE ENRICHED IN SUGARS, ACIDS, AND AMIDES. ALONGSIDE, FILAMENTS AND 3D-PRINTED MESHES WERE PRODUCED VIA WET SPINNING AND DIRECT-INK-WRITING (DIW), RESPECTIVELY. FOR THE LATTER PURPOSE, BPW WAS DISSOLVED IN AN IONIC LIQUID, 1-ETHYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM ACETATE ([EMIM][OAC]), AND REGENERATED INTO LIGNOCELLULOSE FILAMENTS WITH HIGHLY ALIGNED NANOFIBRILS (WIDE-ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING) THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY SHOWED EXTENSIBILITY (WET STRAIN AS HIGH AS 39%). BPW-DERIVED LIGNOCELLULOSE FILAMENTS SHOWED A TENACITY (UP TO 2.3 CN DTEX?1) THAT IS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF RAYON FIBERS AND SHOWED LOW LIGHT REFLECTANCE (RES FACTOR